State v. Snead
| Decision Date | 09 January 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-03727,95-03727 |
| Citation | 707 So.2d 769 |
| Parties | 23 Fla. L. Weekly D261 STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Keith Garrett SNEAD, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Tonja R. Vickers, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellant.
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, Bartow, and Richard P. Albertine, Jr., Assistant Public Defender, Clearwater, for Appellee.
The State appeals from an order suppressing evidence of a firearm and cocaine found in Keith Snead's vehicle after a traffic stop. The trial court determined the stop was pretextual. We reverse.
In determining the validity of a traffic stop, the United States Supreme Court in Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996), held that an objective test is to be applied, thereby overruling the reasonable officer test of State v. Daniel, 665 So.2d 1040 (Fla.1995). See Holland v. State, 696 So.2d 757 (Fla.1997). "As a general matter, the decision to stop an automobile is reasonable where the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred." Whren, 517 U.S. at 808, 116 S.Ct. at 1772. Thus, in "applying the objective test, generally the only determination to be made is whether probable cause existed for the stop in question." Holland, 696 So.2d at 759 (footnote omitted).
Here, Officer Ober, who stopped Snead's vehicle, testified that the taillight and brake light on the driver's side were inoperable. He issued Snead a traffic citation for "improper unsafe equipment." The evidence showed that the officer had probable cause to make the stop. No further inquiry into the officer's motivation for the stop is relevant under the objective test. See Holland, 696 So.2d at 760 (). Therefore, we reverse the suppression order and remand for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
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Hilton v. State
...stop is lawful under section 316.610 where the vehicle reasonably appears to have an equipment violation. See, e.g., State v. Snead, 707 So.2d 769, 770 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) (holding that stop was reasonable where officer had probable cause to believe that appellee's taillight and brake light ......
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Welch v. State
...200 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), rev. denied, 729 So.2d 394 (Fla.1999); Scott v. State, 710 So.2d 1378 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998); State v. Snead, 707 So.2d 769 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). 7. See Smith v. State, 735 So.2d 570 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) (the authority to remove a passenger from a vehicle legitimately stop......
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State v. Kindle, 5D00-2020.
...for a stop of vehicle where license tag was not readable as required by law), rev. denied, 729 So.2d 394 (Fla.1999); State v. Snead, 707 So.2d 769 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) (finding that officer had probable cause to make a traffic stop where he observed that a taillight and a brake light on the d......
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Hilton v. State, 2D02-5346.
...had a dim tag light, even though the officers may have been looking for drug traffic that evening. Id. at 878; see State v. Snead, 707 So.2d 769, 770 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) (holding that stop was reasonable where officer had probable cause to believe that appellee's taillight and brake light we......