Summary
The Supreme Court of Nevada held that NRS 484.795 governs an officer’s discretion to arrest or issue a citation for traffic violations, including violations of local traffic ordinances. The court concluded that the officer abused that discretion by making a custodial arrest without special circumstances requiring immediate arrest, violating the respondent’s rights under Article 1, Section 18 of the Nevada Constitution. The court affirmed suppression of narcotics discovered during a subsequent strip search.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether NRS 484.795 governs warrantless arrests for traffic violations contained in local as well as state traffic ordinances.
- Whether the officer abused his statutory discretion under NRS 484.795 by making a full custodial arrest rather than issuing a citation when no special circumstances required immediate arrest.
- Whether evidence discovered during the post-arrest strip search had to be suppressed because the arrest violated Article 1, Section 18 of the Nevada Constitution.
Holdings
- NRS 484.795 governs warrantless misdemeanor arrests for traffic violations, including violations of local, regional, and statewide traffic ordinances in Nevada.
- Although NRS 484.795 gives an officer discretion to arrest or issue a citation when its mandatory arrest provisions do not apply, that discretion is not unfettered. An officer abuses discretion by making a full custodial arrest in an arbitrary or unreasonable manner without special circumstances requiring immediate arrest.
- An arrest made in violation of NRS 484.795 violates the suspect's right to be free from unlawful searches and seizures under Article 1, Section 18 of the Nevada Constitution, even if the arrest would not violate the Fourth Amendment.
- Narcotics discovered during the strip search following Bayard's unlawful arrest were properly suppressed as the product of an unlawful search and seizure.
Key quotations
“Although the Legislature has given "discretion" in determining when to issue a citation or make an arrest for a traffic code violation, that discretion is not unfettered.” (at 502)
“Reasonableness requires probable cause that a traffic offense has been committed and circumstances that require immediate arrest.” (at 502)
“The officer was not permitted to arrest Bayard based on a "hunch" or "whim" that Bayard was engaged in other illegal activity that might be revealed through a subsequent strip search or car search.” (at 503)
Factual background
A Reno police officer observed Bayard commit an illegal left turn and an abrupt lane change. Bayard stopped when the officer activated his lights, provided identification, disclosed that he was carrying a gun and had a valid concealed-weapons permit, consented to a search of his person, and remained cooperative. The officer arrested him rather than issuing a traffic citation, and narcotics were discovered during a subsequent strip search conducted during booking.
Procedural history
After being arrested for two traffic violations, Bayard was charged with drug trafficking and possession-for-sale offenses. Following a preliminary hearing and arraignment, he moved to suppress the narcotics on the ground that his arrest was unlawful. The district court granted suppression, and the State appealed.