State v. Sprague

Amestoy, C.J.,

¶ 35. concurring. When the public’s interest in the safety of its law enforcement officers is weighed against the relatively minor intrusion upon the privacy interest of a driver ordered out of a lawfully stopped vehicle, safety must prevail. Under the rule formulated by the United States Supreme Court in Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106, 111 (1977), and endorsed by a majority of the states, a law enforcement officer may, consistent with the Fourth Amendment, *137routinely require the driver to exit a lawfully stopped motor vehicle. This rule recognizes that a police officer…