A Kansas man by the name of Charles Glover Jr. was pulled over in a traffic stop by police after they learned that the registered owner of the vehicle had his license revoked by the state. This occurred even though the officers were unaware of who was actually driving the vehicle.
Glover challenged the stop, arguing that it violated his 4th amendment rights. He claims there was no suspicious or unlawful activity that justified the stop. The Kansas Supreme Court sided with Glover, however, Kansas asked the Supreme Court to take up its appeal.
The Supreme Court opinion rule 8-1 and reversed the lower court’s opinion. They claimed that the Fourth Amendment allows a law enforcement officer to make an investigative stop when he/she has a “particularized and objective basis” for suspecting criminal activity.
In this case, they drew on the facts that Kansas hardly ever revokes a license except for “serious and repeat offenses” and that “a person with a revoked license has already shown a willingness to flout driving restrictions.”
San Diego DUI Implications
Given the current development of COVID-19, people will begin to get stopped to see if they are violating the stay-at-home executive order by California Governor, Newsom. The problem is that DMVs and alcohol programs are closed, so people cannot get enrolled in an alcohol program or got to the DMV to get their legal restricted license.
Currently, 1 out of 4 San Diego alcohol programs allow people to pay over the phone or online and begin the program without face to face contact. However, the DMV needs to change more alcohol programs to be available online like other states. This will allow DUI offenders to complete their necessary requirements without violating California’s stay-at-home executive order
Source: CNN