Summary
The Florida Second District Court of Appeal reversed Vernon E. Peeples's convictions and sentences for six drug offenses. The court held that the traffic stop based on a single failure to maintain a single lane was unauthorized because the conduct did not create a reasonable safety concern, and it remanded with directions to discharge Peeples.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the traffic stop was authorized when it was based solely on one failure to maintain a single lane that created no reasonable safety concern.
- Whether the convictions and sentences should be reversed when the evidence supporting the drug offenses was discovered as a result of the unauthorized stop.
Holdings
- A single failure to maintain a single lane does not authorize a traffic stop absent evidence that the driver's conduct created a reasonable safety concern or endangered others.
- The convictions and sentences must be reversed, and the defendant must be discharged, because the State conceded that the trial court erred in denying the motion to suppress.
Key quotations
“Section 316.089 is similar to section 316.155, Florida Statutes (1995), governing the use of turn signals, in that a violation does not occur in isolation, but requires evidence that the driver's conduct created a reasonable safety concern.” (173 So. 3d at 1123)
Factual background
Law enforcement stopped Vernon Peeples's automobile after observing one failure to maintain a single lane in violation of section 316.089(1), Florida Statutes (2012). The stop did not endanger the deputies or anyone else and did not create a reasonable safety concern. Officers discovered drugs and paraphernalia during or after the stop, leading to six drug convictions.
Procedural history
The trial court denied Peeples's motion to suppress drugs and paraphernalia discovered after law enforcement stopped his automobile for failure to maintain a single lane. Peeples was convicted of six drug offenses and appealed. The State conceded on appeal that the stop was unauthorized.
Remand instructions
Remand with directions to discharge Vernon Peeples.