Section 6.6 Unusual Operation of a Motor Vehicle as Justification for a Stop

• Library: DWI 2014

A police officer can effect a traffic stop that meets constitutional muster when no traffic laws are being violated but the officer observes unusual operation of a motor vehicle. State v. Brown,332 S.W.3d 282 (Mo. App. S.D. 2011). In Brown,a sheriff’s deputy patrolling a section of I‑44 observed a vehicle weaving within a single traffic lane and driving on the centerline of the lane. The deputy initiated a traffic stop after observing the driver weaving within the lane. No traffic laws were violated, and the stop was challenged on the ground that the deputy lacked reasonable suspicion to make the stop. The court found that the erratic driving provided sufficient reasonable suspicion to justify the stop. Id. at 286.

In State v. Malaney,871 S.W.2d 634 (Mo. App. S.D. 1994), a trooper observed a vehicle weaving within a lane, violating no traffic laws. The traffic stop was found to be valid, and the court noted that the erratic movements of the driver could lead a...