State v. Tate

Beasley, Judge.

The question for decision is whether the stop of Tate’s car by Deputy Sheriff Shields was lawful under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Ruling that it was not, the trial court granted Tate’s motion to suppress evidence of cocaine seized by Deputy Shields from within Tate’s car. The basis for the court’s conclusion that the stop was not lawful was its conclusion that, based on the facts as found, a reasonable officer would not have made the traffic stop in the absence of an ulterior motive to interdict drugs. In other words, the court wrote, the stop was…