Lisa Smoak Duncanv.The State
A sheriff’s deputy stopped Lisa Duncan for speeding, issued her citation, returned her license, and then questioned her about probation and drugs before obtaining her consent to search the car. The search uncovered methamphetamine and a glass pipe. Duncan moved to suppress the evidence, arguing that the deputy unlawfully prolonged the traffic stop after completing its traffic-related mission. The trial court denied the motion, but the Court of Appeals of Georgia reversed. A valid traffic stop becomes an unlawful second detention when an officer continues questioning or seeks consent to search without reasonable suspicion after issuing the ticket. Duncan’s probation status, nervous behavior, and shifting gaze did not establish reasonable suspicion, and the encounter never became consensual because the deputy did not tell her she was free to leave. The request to search also was not made contemporaneously with completion of the stop: the deputy first returned the citation and license, then questioned Duncan about probation and drugs. The court held that the evidence should have been suppressed and reversed. Judge Dillard concurred in the judgment only, stating that the majority opinion should not be treated as binding precedent under the Court of Appeals’ rule.
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