Terrance Demarco Wilson a/k/a Terrence Wilson a/k/a Terrance Wilson v. State of Mississippi

Summary

The Mississippi Court of Appeals held that an officer lacked reasonable suspicion to initiate a traffic stop based solely on the presence of a properly displayed temporary tag. The court ruled that evidence obtained during the stop, including a firearm and related statements, should have been suppressed under the Fourth Amendment and the Mississippi Constitution. The court reversed Wilson’s conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon and rendered a judgment of acquittal.

Holdings

1. A vehicle displaying a temporary tag is not subject to a traffic stop solely on that basis. A stop requires evidence that the tag is not properly displayed or other articulable facts giving rise to a particularized and reasonable suspicion that the tag is invalid or that the vehicle or an occupant violated another law.
2. Because the traffic stop was unlawful, all evidence obtained as a result of the stop, including derivative tangible and testimonial evidence, was subject to suppression. With no remaining evidence to support the conviction, the conviction and sentence had to be reversed and rendered.

Questions Presented

1. Whether an officer may initiate a traffic stop solely because a vehicle displays a properly displayed temporary tag when the officer has observed no traffic violation or other suspicious conduct.
2. Whether evidence obtained during that stop, including derivative testimonial and tangible evidence, must be suppressed under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article 3, section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded