Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

this is a tuff one. �can a juvenile driver be convicted of a crime when the reason for the stop of her vehicle was based on the passenger be in recognized as a parolee and looking as if he was hiding something? then his case is dismissed in adult court, but in juvenile court she was sentenced to probation, testing and curfew with a 3yr 2mo prison sentenced over her head as she has since turned 18 ?


Asked on 3/06/12, 11:24 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

The traffic stop sounds legal to me. Police can pull a car over because they want to question a passenger. The driver is not the only one who can trigger a stop.

If you were stopped legally and then the police saw evidence that the driver was committing a crime, they were not required to ignore that evidence. The same is true if you were already wanted for a crime and they did not realize who you were until after the stop.

Nothing you have said suggests that any of the driver's rights were violated.

Sorry I can't be more encouraging.

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Answered on 3/06/12, 11:40 am
Brian McGinity McGinity Law Office

I agree with Mr.Hoffman. The facts that you provided do non suggest any of the driver's rights were violated. However, you didn't provide a lot of facts. A Parolee is searchable at any time for anything. Someone hiding something when they see law enforcement tends to raise the officers suspicion level. Unfortunately if that person is a Parolee the officers can search them and the immediate area. In other words the Parolee being in the car gives the officers the right to search the car. If they find evidence of illegal activity as a result of that search they will follow through with their investigation.

If you would like to be more specific you can reach our office through our website at: www.brianmcginitylaw.com .

Good luck

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Answered on 3/06/12, 4:18 pm


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