State v. Foster

Defendant appeals from his conviction for possession of a controlled substance. ORS 475.992(4)(d). He assigns error to the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence discovered following a routine traffic stop. We reverse.

On June 4, 1994, at approximately 1:55 a.m., defendant was a passenger in a car driven by Thompson. Officer Skinner stopped the car because it did not have a rear license plate light. Thompson did not have a driver’s license and told Skinner that defendant owned the car. Skinner subsequently learned from the police dispatcher that Thompson’s driver’s license was…