dumb cop

[hipchic]

What is the name of yWhat is the name of your state?Arizona

I was followed into a seven eleven parking lot ( not actually stopped)A cop pulled right behind me .I had a temporary 3 day permit in rear window .I have a Toyota Lexus I called DMV and asked them what I should put for MAKE of car and they said (I have a recording of DMV saying this) The Make is Toyota and the Model is Lexus when I was filling the form out it asked the make and body style ( not make and model ) I put Toyota for the make and 4Dr for body style. The cop pulled me over because the 3day tag said Toyota and she believed the car to be a lexus .I was handcuffed & arrested for knowing and willing displaying fictitious plates. I was then searched and she found about ten cents of meth .She then searched my car and purse and found about ten cents again( I told her I was not consenting to the search of my car) My question is do you think I can win a motion to suppress hearing? our state?Arizona

 

[CdwJava]

What the DMV told you and what the officer believed are two different things. Yes, a Lexus is manufactured by Toyota ... but, unless you read the VIN it looks like a Lexus, and not everyone is aware of this little tidbit - cop or not. I'll bet YOU didn't know it until you talked to someone, either. In my state the make would be Lexus; why AZ has it as Toyota I couldn't say.

An honest mistake of fact is not generally grounds for suppression.

Consult local counsel.

- Carl

 

[Eclipso]

Maybe you will win. The cop had no business to search your vehical without permission PERIOD.

For the lexus/toyota fued. Just by reading what you posted, sounds abit odd. AZ told you one thing and the Cop believed otherwise. Sounds like lawyer material. Unless the punishment is acceptable , can walk away with no extra fee's.

 

[CdwJava]

Uh ... not true. If the driver were arrested a search of the vehicle pursuant to a tow is perfectly lawful.

- Carl

 

[hipchic]

Arizona

The cop searched my body first then the car .

 

[hipchic]

Dumb cop 2

Well ....can someone tell me what the diffrence is between a
" honest mistake" and "ignorance of the law" ? I would think that it would be part of a officers job to know that Toyota makes Lexus and if she /he does not know that ,then how in the heck can she/he make a arrest based on what she/he thought maybe may be fictitious.I think that the cop should have to find out if toyota makes lexus before a arrest was made .F.Y.I. I went to court on the charge of knowing displaying fictitious plates and the charge was dissmissed but I still have trial on the found drugs.....go figure.

Thanks again
Sherryl

 

[gawm]

that 3 day permit is a restricted use permit. you're not suppose to be driving around on it, only to and from repair shop, emissions, stuff like that. maybe that is the reason the officer was following you. another thing i don't understand is the Vin # should of be correct and it should of been on there. it should of came back on the computer as a valid plate. last but not least, i got pulled over for a fictitious plate and my license was suspended and they didn't arrest me so what did you do to piss him off? fictitious plate is only a class 2 misdemeanor

 

[CdwJava]

An arrest only requires the officer have "probable cause" to believe a crime has been committed by the suspect. Using the "reasonable officer standard", if other officers could have reasonably made the same decision given the circumstances, then the arrest is generally lawful.

If the arrest is lawful the search is going to be good ... of the person AND the vehicle (if subject to tow).

- Carl

 

[hipchic]

Arizona

Gawm I know it is restricted thats why it's a restricted permit .On the permit it asked me move from ________ I put mechanics and I had just picked it up from my mechanics. I did nothing to piss anyone off .However, thats one of my questions i'll have my lawyer ask the cop in court believe me.Also I was not the owner of the car and the plates had been suspended .That is why I got a 3day permit to be able to legally test drive the car with temp 3day permit.

Sherryl

 

[Curt581]

Re: Dumb Driver

Yes, Lexus is manufactured by Toyota.

But Lexus is actually a separate "make" for the purposes of registration, in much the same way Lincoln is a separate "make" from Mercury, even though both are manufactured by the Ford Motor Co. You wouldn't register a Lincoln Navigator as a Ford Mustang.

The court might have let the registration violation slide for whatever reason, but it still qualifies as probable cause to stop you. If you were placed in custody, that gives the police the right to search the interior in and around the driver's seat area. If the vehicle was subsequently towed, they are allowed to perform a complete inventory search of the entire auto.

Before you spout off about how "dumb" the cops were, remember this.... they were smart enough to find your meth.

 

[trustknow1]

call me old-fashioned, but if I was in this position, I would spend some time on a back-up plan, just in case the "meth user proving cop was dumb" approach does not work out so well. But, that's just me....