State v. Meza

Summary

The Montana Supreme Court grants Robert Louis Meza’s petition for rehearing in part and makes nonsubstantive corrections to its prior opinion concerning traffic violations and particularized suspicion for a vehicle stop. The court clarifies that a 2003 amendment to Montana Code Annotated § 61-8-336 did not apply to Meza’s 2001 conduct, but concludes that the stop was nevertheless supported by at least one traffic violation.

Holdings

1. The 2003 amendment to § 61-8-336(2), MCA, did not apply to Meza's conduct in 2001.
2. The district court properly determined that particularized suspicion existed because Meza committed at least one traffic violation, including parking in the middle of the street and actually impeding traffic.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the 2003 amendment to Montana Code Annotated § 61-8-336(2) applied to Meza's conduct occurring in 2001.
2. Whether the court should grant rehearing to correct reliance on the 2003 amendment.
3. Whether Meza's traffic violations supplied particularized suspicion for the vehicle stop.

Disposition

other