Page 137 - North Carolina 2020 Legal Guide

Task: Randomly Running License Plates

United States v. Matthews, 615 F.2d 1279 (10 Cir. 1980).
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United States v. Walraven, 892 F.2d 972 (10 Cir. 1989).
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Olabisiomotosho v. City of Houston, 185 F.3d 521 (5 Cir. 1999).
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Federal and State Courts which have considered whether or not an

officer may randomly run vehicle license plates in a public place

have concluded that there is no privacy/Fourth Amendment interest

in a license plate which is visible on the outside of a vehicle. Thus,

officers may randomly run license plates.

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