United States Sixth Circuit

A conviction for possession, with intent to distribute, cocaine is affirmed over a claim of erroneous denial of a suppression motion where: 1) testimony established that an officer had at least a reasonable suspicion that defendant was in ongoing violation of a misdemeanor traffic offense, thereby justifying an investigatory Terry stop; and 2) once he had stopped the vehicle, the officer immediately developed reasonable suspicion of the presence of drugs, permitting additional detention, and developed probable cause to search the vehicle upon the alert of a trained narcotics-detection dog. The circuit court rejects an overly broad interpretation of Tennessee law, under which any invisibility or obstruction to visibility of any portion of a license plate could constitute a violation of the statute.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/03/2008
• Published 04/03/2008

Judges

• Before:  BOGGS, Chief Judge;  and BATCHELDER and GRIFFIN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Sixth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  Gerald H. Summers, Summers & Wyatt, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Appellant.  Perry H. Piper, Assistant United States Attorney, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Appellee.   ON BRIEF:  Gerald H. Summers, Marya L. Wegenka, Summers & Wyatt, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Appellant.   Robert C. Anderson, Assistant United States Attorney, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Appellee.