State v. Baldonado

OPINION

PICKARD, Judge.

These consolidated cases raise the question of whether there is a seizure, as a matter of law, whenever the police pull up behind a stopped car and turn on their flashing lights. We hold that there is not, but because the trial court may not have appreciated the principles governing the law of stops and seizures in its denial of defendants’ motions to suppress, we remand these cases for redetermination in light of our clarification of the applicable law.

The facts are that the officer noticed a car, with its headlights on and engine off, parked on the side of a street in…