Kansas cops can't stop drivers just because they have Colorado plates, court says

WICHITA, Kan. — Law enforcement officials in Kansas cannot stop and search motorists just for having out-of-state license plates from states that have legalized marijuana, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit filed by a Colorado motorist, Peter Vasquez, against two Kansas Highway Patrol officers who pulled him over and searched his vehicle as he was driving alone at night through Kansas on his way to Maryland.

The KHP officers, Richard Jimerson and Dax Lewis, stopped Vasquez when they could not read the temporary tag taped to the inside of the car's tinted rear window. The officers contended they were justified in searching the vehicle because Vasquez was a citizen of Colorado driving on I-70, a "known drug corridor," in a recently purchased, older-model car. They said he also seemed nervous.

A divided panel found the officers violated Vasquez's Fourth Amendment rights in searching his car without his consent. Nothing illegal was found.

Read more: http://gazette.com/kansas-cops-cant-stop-drivers-just-because-they-have-colorado-plates-court-says/article/1583501

Cross-posted in the Colorado Group.