State v. Myers

Pretextual stops are prohibited by our state constitution. State v. Ladson, 138 Wn.2d 343, 353, 979 P.2d 833 (1999). They generally take the form of police stopping a driver for a minor traffic offense to investigate *95more serious violations — violations for which the officer does not have probable cause. Here, a deputy sheriff suspected that Eugene R. Myers was driving with a suspended license. He called for a license check and started to tail the car. When the report did not come back, he stopped Mr. Myers for a couple of minor traffic violations — failures to signal when changing lanes.…