- Read An Opinion On:
- Trailmaster Cheetah Goulburn
Submitted by: Greg Hill
One of the principles our office invokes most often is that when a traffic stop is improper, all evidence obtained by police after the stop must be disregarded. Police may claim a driver was speeding, but the speed limit sign is not supported by a current speed survey. It may be claimed that the client had illegal tinted windows, but it was so dark out that any tint on windows is not visible to the officer until after he stopped the car.
In the case of Paul Carmona, it was an allegedly improper turn without a turn signal. La Habra police officer Nick Wilson observed Defendant Paul Carmona make a right turn without using his turn signals. Wilson was about 40 yards away and traveling in the opposite direction, so he was unaffected by Carmona s turn. There was no other traffic nearby. Wilson, however, believed the turn violated California Vehicle Code 22107 and stopped Carmona.
Wilson then asked Carmona if he was on parole and Carmona said he was. Wilson proceeded to search the car, finding 7.1 grams of methamphetamine and cellular telephones with text messages relating to narcotics transactions. Wilson also searched Carmona s passenger, finding a tooter used to snort meth.
Carmona and his passenger were then charged in Fullerton Superior Court with two felonies: first, a violation of Health and Safety Code 11379(a), transportation of a controlled substance, and second, a violation of Health and Safety Code 11378, possession of a controlled substance. Due to Carmona s prior prison record and one prior strike, he faced one year sentence enhancements under Penal Code 667.
Carmona and his passenger filed a motion to suppress under Penal Code 1538.5, arguing Wilson lacked reasonable suspicion to believe there was a violation of Vehicle Code 22107. This code section prohibits a turning movement without an appropriate signal in the event any other vehicle may be affected by the movement.
At the suppression hearing, Wilson agreed that Carmona s right turn did not affect his safety because he was so far away. However, the trial court found Carmona violated Vehicle Code 22108, which requires a driver to signal for 100 feet prior to turning. Accordingly, the trial court denied the motion.
Carmona and his passenger then entered into a plea bargain, wherein Carmona was sentenced to two years in prison after the trial judge struck Carmona s sentence enhancements. Carmona s passenger was sentenced to three years of formal probation.
Carmona and his passenger then appealed the ruling on the suppression motion. In People v. Carmona (2011 DJDAR 7744), the Fourth Appellate District agreed with Carmona, reversing the trial court.
The appellate court first decided that Vehicle Code 22108 only applied in the context of 22107 if there was no other traffic to be affected, 22108 did not apply. Second, in addressing the propriety of Wilson s stop, the court commented:
If the defendant does not actually break the law, the officer s
mistaken belief that there has been a violation adds nothing to
the probable cause equation. In other words, if an officer simply
does not know the law, and makes a stop based upon objective
facts that cannot constitute a violation, his suspicions cannot be
reasonable. The chimera created by his imaginings cannot be
used against the driver.
In re Justin K. (2002) 98 Cal.App.4th 695, 700.
The appellate court then sent the case back to the Fullerton court with directions to reverse its ruling on the motion to suppress and to allow defendants to withdraw their pleas. Mr. Carmona and his passenger surely had to be happy with this ruling.
About the Author: Greg Hill is a criminal defense attorney in Torrance, California. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy (B.S., 1987), Boston University (M.B.A., 1994) and Loyola Law School (J.D., 1998). His firm s website is at
greghillassociates.com
. His office number is (310) 782-2500.
Source:
isnare.com
Permanent Link:
isnare.com/?aid=1797349&ca=Legal