Minneapolis DWI Lawyer F. T. Sessoms Blogs on Minnesota DWI: This Week's Featured Minnesota DWI Case

The Minnesota DWI Case Of The Week is Alleman v. Commissioner of Public Safety (Decided March 4, 2024, Minnesota Court of Appeals, Unpublished), which stands for the proposition that a partially covered license plate is a constitutionally sufficient reason for the police to stop a motor vehicle. 

In Alleman, a Crow Wing County police officer was following the Petitioner's motorcycle when the officer noticed Mr. Alleman's backpack was obstructing the rear license plate of the motorcycle.  The officer initiated a traffic stop and ultimately arrested Mr. Alleman for DWI and revoked his driver's license.

Mr. Alleman filed a challenge to the license revocation arguing the officer did not have a constitutionally sufficient basis to justify the initial stop.  The district court denied the challenge and upheld the license revocation.  The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court, noting:

"...an officer does not violate the prohibition if [the officer] stops a vehicle to conduct an investigation based on the officer’s reasonable suspicion that the driver is engaging in criminal activity.” Soucie v. Comm ’r of Pub. Safety, 957 N.W.2d 461, 463-64 (Minn. App. 2021), rev. denied (Minn. June 29, 2021). Reasonable suspicion must be based on “specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion.” Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21 (1968); see Magnuson v. Comm ’r of Pub. Safety, 703 N.W.2d 557, 559 (Minn. App. 2005). “Generally, if an officer observes a violation of a traffic law, no matter how insignificant the traffic law, that observation forms the requisite particularized and objective basis for conducting a traffic stop.” State v. Anderson, 683 N.W.2d 818, 823 (Minn. 2004)."

***

"Under Minnesota Statutes section 169.79, subdivision 7 (2022), “[t]he person driving the motor vehicle shall keep the [license] plate legible and unobstructed ... so that the lettering is plainly visible at all times.” See Minn. Stat. § 169.011, subd. 44 (2022) (defining “motorcycle” as a “motor vehicle”). Based on the squad-car video, the district court found that it was “very clear that the backpack obstruct[ed] at least three quarters of the license plate.” Alleman disputes the district court’s finding that his license plate was obstructed by the backpack."

"Alleman contends that two screenshots from the squad-car video show that his license plate was not covered by the backpack before Officer Lindman stopped his motorcycle. But a review of the squad-car video plainly shows that the license plate was partially obstructed by the backpack before Officer Lindman stopped Alleman’s motorcycle. Because the record supports the district court’s finding that Alleman’s license plate was obstructed by the backpack, the district court did not err by concluding that Officer Lindman had reasonable suspicion to stop Alleman’s motorcycle."

Moral Of The Story: Be careful of what you are packing.

If you or a loved one have been charged with a Minnesota DWI, feel free to contact Minneapolis DWI Lawyer, F. T. Sessoms at (612) 344-1505 for answers to all of your Minnesota DWI and DUI questions.