United States v. Gregorio Paniagua-Garcia
813 F.3d 1013, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 2800, 2016 WL 670162 (2016)
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Rule of Law:
Under the Fourth Amendment, a police officer does not have reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop when the observed conduct is just as consistent with lawful activity as it is with unlawful activity.
Facts:
- An Indiana statute forbids drivers from using a cellphone to type, transmit, or read a text or email message.
- The same statute permits all other uses of cellphones by drivers, including making calls, using GPS applications, and selecting music.
- An Indiana police officer, while passing a car on an interstate highway, saw the driver, Gregorio Paniagua-Garcia, holding a cellphone with his head bent toward it.
- The officer believed Paniagua-Garcia 'appeared to be texting.'
- Paniagua-Garcia was, in fact, searching for music on his phone, a lawful activity, and a later examination confirmed he had not sent a text.
- The officer initiated a traffic stop of Paniagua-Garcia's vehicle.
- After stopping the car, the officer received consent from Paniagua-Garcia to search the vehicle.
- The search revealed five pounds of heroin concealed in the spare tire in the trunk.
Procedural Posture:
- Gregorio Paniagua-Garcia was prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for possession of heroin with intent to distribute.
- Paniagua-Garcia filed a motion to suppress the heroin evidence, arguing it was the fruit of an unconstitutional traffic stop lacking reasonable suspicion.
- The district court judge denied the motion to suppress, finding the officer reasonably believed Paniagua-Garcia was texting.
- Paniagua-Garcia entered a conditional guilty plea, which preserved his right to appeal the denial of his suppression motion.
- Paniagua-Garcia (appellant) appealed the district court's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
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Issue:
Does a police officer have reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop under the Fourth Amendment when observing a driver engaging in conduct that is equally consistent with a lawful use of a cellphone as it is with the unlawful act of texting?
Opinions:
Majority - Posner
No. A police officer lacks reasonable suspicion for a traffic stop when the basis for the stop is an observation of conduct that is as consistent with lawful activity as it is with a violation of the law. The officer saw Paniagua-Garcia engaging in behavior—holding a phone and looking down at it—that is common to many lawful uses of a cellphone under the Indiana statute, such as using GPS or selecting music. The government's argument that a mere possibility of unlawful use is enough to create reasonable suspicion is rejected, as such a standard would permit police to stop a substantial portion of the lawfully driving public. This broad suspicion is not the 'particularized and objective basis' required by the Fourth Amendment. The court reasoned that allowing stops on such a flimsy basis would be akin to stopping a driver for drinking from a coffee cup on the remote possibility it contained alcohol, which is not a reasonable suspicion.
Analysis:
This decision clarifies the 'reasonable suspicion' standard under the Fourth Amendment in the context of modern technology and narrowly drafted statutes. It establishes that when a law prohibits a specific action (texting) while permitting many other visually indistinguishable actions, an officer needs more than a general observation of the ambiguous conduct to justify a stop. The ruling underscores the difficulty of enforcing such specific prohibitions and suggests that broader, more easily observable rules (like 'hands-free' laws) are more effective and less likely to lead to unconstitutional seizures. The case serves as a check on police power, preventing officers from using generalized suspicions based on common, often innocent behaviors, as a pretext for traffic stops.
