Trial Begins in NYC as Plaintiffs Attack Police Stop-and-Frisk Practices

 By Jay Perry

            The trial of a class action suit challenging the “stop and frisk” procedures of the New York Police Department began today in a New York District Court. The case, Floyd v. City of New York, was discussed here earlier when the Court ruled that the case could proceed as a class action suit, noting that the alleged stops could demonstrate a “deeply troubling apathy toward New Yorkers’ most fundamental constitutional rights.”

            

             The plaintiffs are possibly going to call up to 100 witnesses, some to provide first-hand accounts of being frisked and questioned without reasonable suspicion. The lead plaintiff, a medical student, testified today about two stops, both of which left him “frustrated, humiliated.” After the second one, which took place outside his residence he stated that, “I felt that I was being told I shouldn’t leave my home.” The plaintiffs claim that the stops are based on race and not bona fide suspicion of actual crime taking place.  Attorneys for the city today disputed that claim, noting that most crime victims are racial minorities and that “crime drives where police officers go, not race.” The city also claims that the decrease in crime has been a direct result of this more active police presence on the streets. It seems undisputed that more stops and frisks have been taking place. The New York Civil Liberties Union states that such stops rose from 97,296 in 2002 to 533,042 in 2012. From the stops last year, approximately 89 percent resulted in no arrest or ticket. 

         This trial bears attention because it highlights the increased use in many cities of direct police interventions in noncriminal behavior. The question remains whether this type of police work is truly beneficial to public safety and moreover whether society is willing to pay the cost of a decrease in liberty.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals says stops based on dirty license plates constitutional

by Lee Davis

• State of Tennessee v. Eric A. Martin

Eric Martin was stopped by a police officer for violation of a the law requiring that a car license plate be maintained free from foreign materials and in a clearly legible condition. Martin’s plate was covered in oil or dirt and was illegible. The officer soon discovered that Martin was driving on a revoked license and arrested him.

Martin struck a plea deal with prosecutors and pled guilty to driving on a revoked license, fifth offense. He was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days but the trial court suspended all of the sentence but for the 29 days and placed Martin on probation. Martin has now appealed the section of Tennessee Code dealing with the condition of license plates. The Court of Criminal Appeals held that no question of law was raised by the appeal and it was dismissed.

Martin claims that T.C.A. Section 55-4-110(b) is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad in that fails to establish sufficient guidelines for determining that a tag is free from foreign materials and clearly legible. Martin claims the law as written permits police officers with far too much discretion. The statute specifically states:

Every registration plate shall at all times be securely fastened in a horizontal position to the vehicle for which it is issued so to prevent the plate from swinging and at a height of not less than twelve inches (12) from the ground, measuring from the bottom of such plate, in a place and position to be clearly visible and shall be maintained free from foreign materials and in a condition to be clearly legible. No tinted materials may be placed over a license plate even if the information upon the license plate is not concealed.

The Court held that the officer in this case executed a traffic stop due to an equipment violation, something that the Tennessee Supreme Court has found to be a valid reason to stop a vehicle. As a result, the traffic stop was constitutional. After a brief investigation the officer determined that Martin was driving on a revoked license. The question that Martin now wants reviewed does not concern the revoked license, but the license plate. The Court found that the license plate issue was not dispositive to the case at trial. 

Even if the issue were dispositive the Court stated that both Tennessee state courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit have found that traffic stops made pursuant to T.C.A. Section 55-4-110(b) are valid and constitutional.  The bottom line is that police can pull over a vehicle if the license is illegible--that is a valid reason to base a police stop.

To read the full opinion, click here.

Earlier:

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Says that Post-Conviction Petitions Must Contain Specific Facts, Defendants Can’t Simply Check Boxes

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Affirms Revocation of Probation for Weapons Possession

Lee Davis practices criminal law in Chattanooga and across Tennessee.