Legal Question in Traffic Law in Washington

Illegal Stop?

I was pulled over for 'failing to signal'and 'illegal left turn'. In actuality, I did signal and had a witness in the car who saw me signal. I also did not illegally turn left, as the officer failed to notice the lane I was in was clearly marked as either straight, or left turn. As a result I was cited for driving on a suspended license. If the officer was in the wrong for pulling me over in the first place, does that render any other violation thereafter inadmissable because of a 'bad stop'? My original suspension was 2nd degree, failure to submit to a BAC test.


Asked on 3/22/05, 2:12 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jeffrey A. Lustick, Esq The Lustick Law Firm

Re: Illegal Stop?

Yes, if the fact that you were driving on a suspended license was discovered only as a result of the initial stop AND the initial stop was without probable cause. This is called the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine. You need to retain counsel who can bring a motion to suppress the part of the stop pertaining to the DWLS.

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Answered on 3/22/05, 10:50 am


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