State v. Dunham

¶ 1. The question presented by this consolidated appeal is whether a police officer’s visual estimate of defendant’s speed can support a reasonable suspicion to warrant a traffic stop. Defendants Todd Dunham and Heidi Tatham argue that a visual estimate amounts to nothing more than a mere hunch or guess, and fails to provide objective grounds for a traffic stop. We disagree and affirm the denial of defendants’ motions to suppress.

¶2. The facts in both cases are not in dispute. Just before midnight on December 10, 2011, a Vermont State Trooper, stationed in a convenience store parking lot in…