Page 49 - July August 2019 TPA Journal

Joe C. Tooley, Legal Digest Editor
Joe C. Tooley, Attorneys & Counselors, Rockwall, Texas
www.TooleyLaw.com 972-722-1058

TEXAS POLICE ASSOCIATION

LEGAL DIGEST

July/August 2019

AUTHOR’S NOTE: It is the goal of this submission to extract those portions of relevant appellate
opinions or the syllabus of the legal reporter which bear directly upon law enforcement methods
and provide guidance for officers on an operational level. Much of the information pertaining to
these cases is lifted verbatim from the court opinion or syllabus with independent analysis inserted
as appropriate. Due to clarity for training purposes, the distinction between quotes from the
opinions and inserted analysis is not always identified and legal citations within the opinion are
often omitted. Emphasis is placed upon reported decisions from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

SEARCH & SEIZURE – SAFETY RISK truck drove across the fog line between the right
– expectation of privacy discussed. lane and the shoulder of the highway, Gonzales
initiated a traffic stop. When the vehicle came to
During a traffic stop, a state trooper pushed his a stop, Gonzales saw that one of the truck’s brake
fingers against the vehicle’s tire to try and lights was broken. He ran the license plate and
confirm his suspicion that it contained more than learned the truck was registered two days earlier
just air. We conclude that the brief physical in nearby Brownsville. When he approached the
examination of the tire was subject to the Fourth vehicle, Gonzales explained the reason for the
Amendment under the recently revived trespass stop—that Richmond crossed the fog line—and
test for deciding what is a search. The search was also told her about the brake light. Richmond
a reasonable one, however, because there was apologized and, without prompting, stated that
probable cause to believe the loose tire posed a she was from Arizona. She avoided eye contact,
safety risk. and Gonzales noticed that her hands were
“trembling,” her mouth was “dry,” and her lips
Texas State Trooper Manuel Gonzales was had “a white coating.”
patrolling U.S. Highway 77 in south Texas when
he saw a blue pickup Jennifer Richmond was In response to questioning, Richmond said that
driving. He drove alongside the truck and saw she was from Tucson but was traveling to
that the tires were “shaking,” “wobbly,” and Brownsville, where she was moving with her
“unbalanced.” He was concerned that the tires husband. Gonzales asked Richmond to exit the
were a potential danger to the public. After the truck so that he could show her the broken brake

July/August 2019 www.texaspoliceassociation.com • 866-997-8282 45