State v. Stookey

This is a criminal case in which defendant appeals a judgment of conviction and sentence for one count of failure to report as a sex offender, ORS 181.599. Defendant assigns error to the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained as a result of a traffic stop, which defendant asserts was without probable cause and, therefore, violated his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures under Article I, section 9, of the Oregon Constitution.1 For the reasons that follow, we reverse and remand.

We first review the legal test for probable cause. In order to stop and…