courtesy of NORML

Supreme Court Overturns Ohio Traffic Stop Decision

November 18, 1996, Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court ruled that

police do not have to inform drivers during a routine traffic stop that

they are legally free to go before asking for consent to search their

vehicle. The ruling overturns a 1995 Ohio Supreme Court decision

mandating that police must first inform motorists that they are "legally

free to go" before requesting the driver's permission to search their car

for drugs or other contraband.

Writing the opinion for the court, Chief Justice William Rehnquist said

that the court has "consistently eschewed bright-line rules" in Fourth

Amendment analysis, and instead must examine the "totality of the

circumstances" on a case by case basis. "It would be unrealistic to

require the police to always inform detainees that they are free to go

before a police consent search may be deemed voluntary," Rehnquist

concluded.

In deciding the case, the High Court rejected the argument that many

individuals will assume that they are in a police officer's custody as

long as the officer continues to interrogate them. "While knowledge of

the right to refuse consent is one factor to be taken into account, the

government need not establish such knowledge as the sine qua non of an

effective consent," Rehnquist opined.

The case is cited as Ohio v. Robinette, No. 95-891.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano

of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.