State v. Goodwin

The state appeals the circuit court’s order granting a motion to suppress. The court held that asking for a person’s driver’s license amounts to only a consensual encounter, but asking also for a person’s registration and proof of insurance converts the consensual encounter into an investigatory stop. We reverse.

The arresting officer testified that, on the night of the incident, she was in uniform in a marked police car at a public housing apartment complex. She was patrolling the complex pursuant to an approved security detail through her department. The complex was in a high-narcotics area…