State v. Cortez

Richardson, J., delivered the opinion of the Court in which Hervey, Alcala, Newell, Keel, and Walker, JJ., joined.

Appellee, Jose Luis Cortez, was stopped by a State Trooper for unlawfully driving on the improved shoulder of the highway1 because the tires on Cortez's minivan purportedly touched the white painted "fog line" separating the roadway from the shoulder. Upon searching Cortez's vehicle, the Trooper found drugs and arrested Cortez.2 Finding that the Trooper did not have a lawful basis for the traffic stop, the trial court granted Cortez's motion to suppress. The court of appeals…