Is a hard stop made at a stop sign probable cause?
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Is a hard stop made at a stop sign probable cause?
I was stopped for a DUI and at the preliminary hearing they said the reason for probable cause was that I made a hard stop at a stop sign didn’t run it no tickets or traffic charges only probable cause is that I made a hard stop. Is
that enough probable cause to pull me over and they didn’t say that I was speeding when I came to this hard stop just almost missed it because it was dark and then they followed me for 6 more blocks with no traffic violations at all before they turned there lights on when i pulled into a gas station.
Asked on November 1, 2018 under Criminal Law, Delaware
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
If the stop was sufficiently "hard" that it suggested that you may have been driving either impaired (whether alcohol or some other substance) or distractedly (e.g. texting, so you did not see the sign until the last moment), then yes, it would provide probably cause for the stop. It depends on how you were driving and just how "hard" the stop was, and whehter a reasonable person would believe it suggested impairment or distraction.
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