Late at night or in the wee hours of the morning, the incidents of police stopping motorists for minor traffic or equipment violations dramatically increases. This is primarily due to the fact that police are legally authorized to stop a vehicle even though their concern and motivation is to uncover other crimes such as a DUI, weapons, drugs, etc.

As noted by a Santa Rosa criminal lawyer, one of the most common technical violations used during these hours is failure to use an appropriate turning signal pursuant to Vehicle Code §22107. Vehicle Code §22108 specifies the required duration of a turn signal and, in the case of People v. Carmona (2011) the Court of Appeals decided that these two statutes must be read together so that when somebody is required to give a turn signal, the turn signal must be given continuously during the last 100 feet traveled by the vehicle before turning. However, Vehicle Code §22107 only requires the use of an appropriate signal in the event that there is another vehicle which is effected by the movement. The Court ruled that a stop of a vehicle by police that turns without signaling is not justified by a “reasonable suspicion” if it is readily apparent that no other vehicle was being effected by the turning vehicle’s movement.

In this particular Carmona case, there was no other vehicle in the area except the defendant’s vehicle and the police cruiser. The officer was actually traveling in the opposite direction and therefore could not have been effected by the defendant’s right-hand turn without a signal. As a result, there was no violation which justified the police stopping the vehicle and, as a result, all of the evidence discovered from the illegal stop was suppressed and thrown out of court. A Napa criminal attorney, a San Rafael criminal attorney, and a Santa Rosa criminal attorney will welcome this Court’s decision.

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