When Can the Police Pull Your Over in Minnesota

It's one of the most common questions people bring to a lawyer: When is an officer allowed to stop my car? It makes sense. For most of us, the road is where we're most likely to cross paths with law enforcement.

Minnesota has hundreds of traffic laws, and very few drivers follow every one of them all the time. Maybe you drift a few miles over the speed limit. Or maybe you're breaking a rule you've never even heard of — like hanging something from your rearview mirror.

Yes, the air freshener counts

Believe it or not, the fuzzy dice, the pine-tree air freshener, or anything else dangling from your mirror is against the law. Minnesota law prohibits objects hanging between the driver and the windshield, with only a few narrow exceptions, such as sun visors, the mirror itself, and certain mounted devices. Minnesota courts have held that it doesn't matter whether the object actually blocks your view. If an officer sees it, that alone is enough to pull you over.

The reasons an officer can stop you

An officer can lawfully stop your vehicle for any of the following:

• A traffic violation. Speeding, running a red light, rolling through a stop sign, something hanging from your mirror — breaking any traffic law is enough.

• An equipment problem. A burned-out taillight, a muffler that's too loud, a windshield cracked badly enough to block your view.

• Suspicion of a crime. If an officer sees someone running from a closed store and jumping into a car, the officer may reasonably suspect a break-in.

• Matching a description. If police get a report about a crime — even one that has nothing to do with driving — and you or your vehicle match the description, an officer can stop you.

  
  

One thing that surprises many people: the reason an officer gives for a stop doesn't have to be the whole story. An officer may have another reason for wanting to talk with you besides the air freshener or going three miles over the limit. As long as a real violation occurred, the stop is generally lawful — and the officer doesn't have to tell you what else they had in mind.

What the law requires: "reasonable, articulable suspicion"

Whatever the reason, the officer has to be able to point to it. The law calls this a reasonable, articulable suspicion: specific facts the officer can state that suggest you were breaking the law, whether through your driving, the condition of your vehicle, or something you did outside your car. A hunch isn't enough.

What can't be the reason

A stop can never be based on who you are. Your race, your gender, and other personal characteristics are not lawful reasons to pull you over. Racial profiling, stopping people because of their race, is prohibited; though unfortunately some departments and officers have been caught doing it.

Where and when you're driving isn't enough on its own, either. Being on the road at 2 a.m., or in a certain part of town, doesn't mean you're up to no good.

Where are these rules written down?

You might expect to find these rules in the Minnesota Statutes. For the most part, you won't. They grow out of the protections against unreasonable searches and seizures in the U.S. and Minnesota Constitutions, and out of the court decisions that interpret them: rulings from the Minnesota Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, the federal appeals courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Hundreds of decisions, built up over decades, shape what an officer can and can't do. Unless you're a lawyer, that's a lot to keep track of.

The traffic laws themselves, on the other hand, are in the statutes—most of them in Chapter 169. If you have some time to read through them, you'll have a better sense of the lesser-known rules of the road, and you may be surprised by a few.

Questions about a traffic stop?

If you believe you were pulled over without a valid reason, or a stop led to charges, the details of that stop can matter a great deal. The attorneys at Ed Shaw Law can review what happened and help you understand your options. Call us at 218-825-7030 or book a consultation online.

This post is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.