Legal Question in Traffic Law in Kansas

Re: challenging a traffic stop

It is possible but very unlikely that a driving while suspended ticket would be dismissed because the reason for the traffic stop was improper. Citizens too often assume that an improper stop negates any prosecution. No judge is required to Dismiss a case because there was an improper stop. What the courts often do is exclude evidence that results from an improper search. A search of a vehicle or person can be rendered improper because the traffice stop leading up to the search was improper. If the search resultes in finding an illegal substance, for example, it could be excluded from use as evidence agaisnt the accused. If the absence of that evidence prevents a guilty verdict, the case could be Dismissed for lack of evidence.

In the case of driving while suspended, the only evidcne that results from the stop is the identity of the driver. The officer would observe the driver operating the vehicle before he/she made a traffic stop. The fact that the person so identified has had their license suspended, is not of such a nature that a court would likely exclude it from evidence.

To make a motion that says, "I was operating a vehicle, and was unlawfully stopped..." would probably not go over well with any judge. If the person making such a motion has had their driving priveledges suspended or revoked, the officer who stops them, is not intefering with any lawful activity of that driver. Their driving was unlawful. No Court that I know of has found against an officer for stopping a crime in progress. It would take very extraordinary facts to make such a traffic stop unlawful to teh extent that a driver would not be held responsible for the crime they were committing just before the stop.

If there are very egregious facts that surround a traffic stop, a court, MAY but IS NOT REQUIRED TO exclude the evidence of operating a vehciel or refuse to find the defendant guilty.

Good luck