Do you, as a passenger in a stopped vehicle, have a right to get out and walk away? Or have you been "seized" by police -- therefore bringing into play a number of rights under the Bill of Rights?

Most people sitting in the passenger seat of a car that has been stopped by a police officer do not feel free to open the door and leave. Neither do most members of the Supreme Court, or so the justicesÂ’ comments indicated during an argument Monday on the constitutional rights of passengers in that familiar but uncomfortable situation.

The question of whether a “reasonable” passenger would feel free to leave was significant because that perception is a principal part of the court’s test for whether a “seizure” has taken place within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

If a reasonable person would not feel constrained, then he or she has not been “seized” and has no basis for complaining that the police have violated the Fourth Amendment. The converse is also true: a person who reasonably feels detained by the police is entitled to challenge the validity of the police action and perhaps to keep illegally seized evidence out of court.

The surprisingly vexing question of the rights of passengers was brought to the Supreme Court by a California man who was a passenger in a car that a police officer stopped, ostensibly to investigate a possibly expired registration. The stop was later found to be improper because, earlier in the day, when the car was parked, the same officer had checked and learned that it was properly registered.

Given that the first thing police officers do when you try to open that door is order you to close it and remain in the vehicle -- at times with weapons drawn -- I don't think that there can be any other conclusion than to decide in favor of the fellow who was arrested and charged in this case -- though there might well be other bbases for upholding his conviction.

Posted by: Greg at 10:43 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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