Mr. Graves was a passenger in a car that was stopped by police following an observation of an improper lane change. The stop occurred at 6:58 pm. The driver of the car was asked to consent to a vehicle search and declined to do so. The police officer began to prepare the traffic citation and simultaneously requested a drug dog be sent to the scene. The dog was requested at 7:08pm and arrived at 7:15pm. The officer testified that he began to work on his citation at 7:08pm and had yet to finish when the dog arrived. He also testified that 7-8 minutes or more was commonly required to complete writing a citation. The citation was completed at 7:40 pm.
Graves remained in the vehicle until after the dog arrived. At that point the officer or officers told Graves to exit the vehicle which he declined to do until the police officers forcefully removed him. Thereupon, contraband and a gun were found on or about his person which led to his arrest and ultimate conviction.
A motion to suppress was filed by Graves on the basis that his warrantless detention from the traffic stop had been unreasonably prolonged. The trial judge found the detention to have been for a reasonable period of time and denied the motion to suppress.
The Court of Criminal Appeals began its review by noting that a warrantless search is presumed to be unreasonable and that the State bears the burden of proof in showing reasonableness. The Tennessee “cite and release” statute requires that an officer issue a citation in certain instances, like for an improper lane change, instead of making an arrest. T.C.A. 55-10-142 and 143.
The Court reminds us that a traffic stop justifies an investigation only for the traffic violation unless other information is developed during the period of reasonable detention which gives rise to a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity beyond the traffic violation itself. A traffic stop and brief detention can become unlawful if it is prolonged by a dog sniff beyond the time reasonably required to complete the issuance of the traffic ticket. The reasonableness of the seizure is not determined by whether the dog sniff occurs before or after the officer issues the ticket…but whether the conduct of the sniff prolongs the stop. A drug dog sniff is not an ordinary inquiry incident to a traffic stop.
The opinion also reminds us that while the Tennessee Supreme Court has held that the driver of a vehicle lawfully stopped for a traffic violation can be made to exit the vehicle, there is no such clear answer to that question as relates to passengers. Cases from the intermediate Tennessee court may support both results.
The Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that the trial court had not made specific findings concerning the timeline of events.
At trial, the officer who made the stop said that one of the reasons that he did so was to check the driver for possible impairment. However, the appellate court found it to be significant that there was no testimony that the driver was evaluated for impairment. If field sobriety testing had been employed, then the time to do so would certainly have been a necessary part of the traffic stop. The drug dog could certainly sniff at the same time as the driver is participating in field sobriety testing.
The stop took place at 6:58pm. The officer began to work on the citation at 7:08pm which seems reasonable. The drug dog arrived at 7:15pm, 17 minutes after the stop. Graves was then instructed to get out of the car to facilitate the sniff of the dog-not to further the investigation of the traffic offense.
In conclusion, the Court of Criminal Appeals held that the State failed to extablish that the detention was reasonable and not prolonged beyond the scope necessary to process a traffic violation for an improper lane change. The officer lacked a “reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity necessary to extend the scope and duration of the stop.” The trial court was reversed, and the case was dismissed.
Read the opinion at State v. Justin Darnay Graves, 2023 WL 3116656, (Tenn. Crim. App. April 27, 2023).
