State v. Jacoby

To establish probable cause, the officer, at the time of the stop, "must subjectively believe that a violation has occurred, and . . . that belief must be objectively reasonable under the circumstances." State v. Carson, 287 Or App 631, 634 (2017). 

Defendant appealed a judgment for conviction for having given a police officer false information and unlawful possession of methamphetamine. During her trial, Defendant moved to suppress the evidence obtained from the traffic stop and asserted that the underlying reason for the traffic stop was for "impeding traffic" under ORS 811.130 and thus not supported by probable cause. To establish probable cause, the officer, at the time of the stop, "must subjectively believe that a violation has occurred, and . . . that belief must be objectively reasonable under the circumstances." State v. Carson, 287 Or App 631, 634 (2017). The Court of Appeals identified that Defendant’s car was stopped for several seconds at a green light and once she started moving, she was only driving at 20 miles per hour in a posted speed limit zone of 40 miles per hour, without circumstances such as the weather to justify her slow speed; and the court concluded that the record showed that she had "operated her vehicle in a manner that impeded or blocked" the traffic behind her. The court held that the officer had probable cause under the "facts perceived by the officer", which "were sufficient for him to establish probable cause" that Defendant "was impeding traffic" and therefore the trial court did not err when it denied Defendant’s suppression motion.  Affirmed.