United States v. Escalante

PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM,

Circuit Judge:

Santiago Escalante appeals the denial of his motion to suppress evidence found during a traffic stop. A sheriffs deputy stopped Escalante, ostensibly for careless driving, and discovered twenty kilos of cocaine in his car. Escalante challenges the constitutionality of the Mississippi careless driving statute and argues that the sheriffs deputy lacked probable cause to conduct the traffic stop. We affirm.

I

On the afternoon of July 11,1998, Deputy Robert Sanders was parked on the northbound side of 1-55 in Madison County, Mississippi, near the 107 mile…