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The Statev.Jodin Lejeune

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A14A0422
DecidedMay 20, 2014
Reporter327 Ga. App. 327, 759 S.E.2d 53
JudgesFourth Division: Presiding Judge Doyle, and Judges Miller and Dillard; Dillard authored the opinion; Doyle and Miller concurred
Tags
CriminalCriminal ProcedureFourth AmendmentTraffic StopReasonable SuspicionSearch and SeizureMotion to SuppressReversal
Case Summary

The State challenged the order excluding evidence from a traffic stop. A Gwinnett County officer began tracking Jodin LeJeune after he left a restaurant known to officers as a frequent source of impaired drivers, although LeJeune had committed no traffic offense and the officer had no reasonable suspicion at that point. After about one and a half to two miles, the officer saw LeJeune drift over the center stripe and sway within his lane, then stopped him for failure to maintain lane. LeJeune had been charged by accusation with driving under the influence, marijuana possession, and failure to maintain lane; the opinion states that what occurred after the stop was not in the record. The Court of Appeals held that following a vehicle is not a seizure requiring reasonable suspicion, and that the observed traffic violation supplied probable cause for the stop even if the officer had an ulterior motive. It also held that the department profiling rule did not apply because LeJeune alleged no profiling based on race, religion, or a similar trait, and the stop violated neither the rule nor the Fourth Amendment. The court reversed the order granting suppression.

Opinion

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