Friday, May 5, 2017

Court Says Police Can Run License Plates Without Suspicion of Wrongdoing


ALBANY – Police can routinely run license plate checks of motorists even if they have no suspicion that any wrongdoing has been committed, the state’s highest court ruled Thursday.

In a case involving a 2014 stop of a motorist by a SUNY Buffalo State police officer in 2014, the Court of Appeals rejected an initial Buffalo City Court ruling that dismissed a driving while intoxicated arrest against a motorist pulled over in the circular driveway into the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

“To ensure the safety of our roads, a police officer may run a license plate number through a government database to check for any outstanding violations or suspensions on the registration of the vehicle. We hold that such a check, even without any suspicion of wrongdoing, is permissible, and does not constitute a search,’’ Chief Judge Janet DiFiore wrote in the 6-0 decision upholding the charges against motorist Andrew Bushey.

Click here for the full article.

Source: The Buffalo News (via The Empire Report) 

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