PA Superior Court: Police Emergency Lights Mean Stop Under 4th Amendment

Goldstein Mehta LLC Criminal Defense Lawyers

The Pennsylvania Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Wilson, holding that a defendant is stopped for purposes of the Fourth Amendment if the police activate their overhead lights. This decision is significant because it recognizes the common-sense principle that most people would not feel free to leave/continue driving once an officer activates his or her lights. Therefore, the police must have probable cause or at least reasonable suspicion before they activate lights and sirens in an attempt to stop a person.

Commonwealth v. Wilson

A Pennsylvania State Trooper was driving on I-83 when he noticed a white Ford pickup truck with a Maryland registration in front of him. The truck, which was being operated by the defendant, was going less than 60 miles per hour, but above the posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour. The defendant was in the left lane. The trooper then positioned himself behind the defendant. The defendant was “barely” passing traffic, but he was still traveling faster than the vehicles in the right lane.

The Trooper then “chirped” his siren to indicate his desire for the defendant to go to the right lane because he felt that the defendant was not driving fast enough. The defendant did not pick up on this cue, and he continued to drive in the left lane. The trooper then activated his lights and turned on his siren. The trooper did this because he was trying to get past the defendant so he could get back to his station. In response to this, the defendant pulled over to the left side of the highway. According to the trooper, the defendant could have pulled over to the right lane and his failure to do so violated the law. 

The trooper then candidly admitted that he experienced an episode of road rage against the defendant. He began to yell and swear at him. As he was yelling at the defendant, the trooper supposedly detected the odor of marijuana. He then instructed the defendant to perform field sobriety tests, but the defendant was not able to perform some of them due to his bad hip. He failed those that he was able to try to perform. The defendant was then placed under arrest for DUI. He was then given a blood test which indicated that he had marijuana and oxycodone in his system. 

The defendant then filed a motion to suppress. At the hearing, the trooper testified to the above facts, and the trial court denied the suppression motion. The trial court stated that because the defendant did not comply with the trooper’s initial “chirp,” the trooper had probable cause to stop the defendant. After his motion was denied, the defendant proceeded by a stipulated bench trial where he was found guilty and sentenced to the mandatory minimum sentence. The defendant then filed a timely appeal arguing that the trooper lacked reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop him. Therefore, he was illegally seized and his motion to suppress should have been granted.  

Is Every Interaction with a Police Officer a Seizure?  

No, for purposes of Fourth Amendment law, not every interaction with a police officer is considered a seizure. There are three types of police interactions: mere encounters, investigative detentions, and arrests. Prosecutors frequently argue that every interaction is a mere encounter so that a defendant cannot claim that his constitutional rights were violated. The crucial factor in determining whether a mere encounter has evolved into an investigatory detention (or an arrest) is whether the individual would have reasonably felt free to terminate the interaction between himself and the police. In other words, if a reasonable person would not have felt free to end the encounter, then it is not a mere encounter. The reason this is significant is because the police need reasonable articulable suspicion that a defendant is engaged in criminal activity before they can stop him for an investigatory detention or probable cause if they wish to arrest him.

As such, when a defense attorney litigates a motion to suppress, they are often trying to elicit facts to suggest that a reasonable person would not have felt free to leave. This may involve soliciting facts such as: the placement of the officers, what they were wearing, whether their weapons were visible, how many officers were involved, the tone of questioning, whether they touched the defendant, whether he was in handcuffs, etc. At the conclusion of the hearing, the defense attorney will then argue that based on the facts of the particular case this was not a mere encounter, but rather an investigatory detention and/or arrest and therefore the police needed reasonable suspicion/probable cause to stop him in the first place.

 The Pennsylvania Superior Court’s Decision

The Pennsylvania Superior Court reversed the lower court and held that the trial court should have granted the defendant’s motion to suppress. The Superior Court held that when the trooper activated his lights, this constituted a seizure for purposes of the Fourth Amendment. The Court went on to say that a reasonable person would not feel free to leave or in this case keep driving once an officer activated their overhead lights. Further, the Superior Court held that the Trooper had no reasonable suspicion to stop the defendant. The trooper testified that he pulled the defendant over so he could get by the defendant to return to his station. The trooper had not pulled the defendant over to investigate a crime or motor vehicle code violation. Consequently, the court vacated the defendant’s conviction for DUI and ruled that the trial court could not admit the majority of the evidence against him as almost all of it occurred after the trooper illegally stopped him.

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Criminal Defense Lawyer Zak Goldstein

If you are facing criminal charges or under investigation by the police, we can help. We have successfully defended thousands of clients against criminal charges in courts throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We have successfully obtained full acquittals in cases involving charges such as Conspiracy, Aggravated Assault, Rape, and Murder. Our award-winning Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers offer a free criminal defense strategy session to any potential client. Call 267-225-2545 to speak with an experienced and understanding defense attorney today.