By Brian Roberts
Rollin’ PC is slang for rolling probable cause, which is a term prosecutors and defense attorneys use to refer to the legal standard that triggers a police officer’s authority to make a traffic stop. It can be speeding, expired registration, a non-working taillight, failure to signal a turn, failure to maintain a single lane of traffic, etc. Traffic stops can turn from simple traffic violations punishable by a ticket and a fine to serious criminal charges.
Countless criminal charges develop from traffic stops. For example, consider what can happen when a driver gets pulled over for speeding. Speeding, alone, does not give a police officer authority to search the car without a warrant. Evidence of the offense of speeding cannot reasonably be expected to be found in the car, the officer determined that the driver was speeding by laser, radar or by pacing before initiating the stop. If the officer asks the driver for permission to search the car and the driver consents to the search, the driver waives his or her Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. So long as there is no coercion by the officer, the driver’s consent is better than a search warrant. Otherwise, without consent, the officer cannot search the car. However, if the officer smells the odor of burnt marijuana coming from the car or the driver or sees in plain view a baggy of marijuana or other item that appears to be a controlled substance or other contraband, the officer then has probable cause to search the driver and the car for drugs without a warrant and without the driver’s consent.
In the case where the officer detects the odor of marijuana, if the officer does not find any drugs, great. Conversely, the officer can pivot to a DWI investigation if the driver exhibits what the officer believes are signs of intoxication. If the officer does not develop any clues that indicate the driver is intoxicated, great, again. The driver gets a speeding ticket and goes home.
More often than not, probable cause searches result in arrests for drug possession and other charges. As in the case where an officer sees illegal drugs in plain view, the driver will get arrested for possession. This is how a simple traffic stop for speeding can end with a felony arrest. Incidentally, a drug conviction in Texas can also result in a driver license suspension as an additional consequence.
It’s not difficult to avoid arrest on a drug charge if you get pulled over. First, don’t give police a reason to pull you over. Keep your registration current, maintain equipment such as headlights and brake lights, don’t drive like a lunatic, always use your turn signal, and pay attention to the road. Second, don’t use, possess or sell drugs. If you’re addicted, get help. Otherwise, don’t use or possess drugs in your car. Don’t let anyone else use or bring drugs into your car. Don’t loan your car to someone who you know uses drugs. If that person leaves drugs in your car and you get pulled over and the officer finds the drugs because he developed probable cause to search or because you gave consent, “Officer, I swear the drugs aren’t mine,” is not a defense to a possession charge. Don’t expect your friend to come forward and take responsibility for the dope, either. In twenty-one years of practicing criminal law, I have never seen it happen. Using common sense prevents bad decisions that lead to bad consequences.
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