State v. Vineyard

OPINION

DROWOTA, Justice.

In this appeal we are asked to determine whether under Article I, Section 7 of the Tennessee Constitution a stop based upon probable cause is valid irrespective of the subjective motivations of the police officer making the stop. The defendant concedes that under the Fourth Amendment to the federal constitution, the subjective motivations of police officers are irrelevant so long as the stop is otherwise based upon probable cause. 1 However, the defendant asks us to hold that, in this context, the Tennessee Constitution’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and…