Eight Myths About Traffic Stops in N.C.

I have heard a lot of myths over the years about traffic stops in N.C. So what are they? You might be surprised.

Myth #1 – The trooper cannot ticket me without his hat!

I don’t know exactly how this one started or why. But this is completely wrong. There is no law in North Carolina I have ever found about Troopers having to wear a hat to ticket you. If there are any rules about hats, it is only an agency policy and nothing that would hold up in court.

Myth#2 – The officer cannot force me to roll down my window.

There is no law that says you must roll down your window when stopped. However, there is a law that says if you willfully resist, delay, or obstruct an officer in the official performance of their duties, you can be arrested and charged with a class 2 misdemeanor. Not rolling down a window when told to by an officer during a traffic stop is likely to get your window busted and you arrested. Checkpoints on the other hand are a little different. I will have a separate post about that soon.

How far do you need to roll it down? Enough for the officer to do his job. That is probably at least halfway but also depends on the reason the officer stopped you. If he stopped you for suspicion of DWI, that is different than a stop for an expired registration. Still, if you want to avoid the busted window scenario just comply and roll the window down. What are you saving by not doing it? It makes it look like you are hiding something even if you aren’t.

Myth#3 – I don’t have to give the officer my license, just show them through the window

Under North Carolina General Statute 20-29 a driver of a vehicle must “produce and exhibit” to an officer his license if he/she is stopped by law enforcement or involved in a wreck. This means you must hand the officer your identification or if you don’t have identification, provide enough information for an officer to identify you. This might mean things like a social security number, date of birth, and address so they can find you in their computer system. Failure to do so is a class 2 misdemeanor. Giving someone else’s information to an officer pretending it is your own can result in a charge of Identity theft which is a Class G felony. If you are thinking of doing that, please don’t.

Myth#4 – You must answer all the officer’s questions.

This is absolutely a myth. Officers do not have to read you the Miranda rights you hear all the time on TV unless two things have happened. Those are 1) You are in custody and 2) You are being interrogated. While you are not free to leave during a traffic stop, that isn’t exactly what custody means. Custody is more akin to an arrest. So being temporarily detained because you were speeding for a mere 10 minute traffic stop is not enough to trigger Miranda rights. However, just because they don’t have to read you those rights, doesn’t mean you don’t still have them. You are not under any obligation to answer any questions. You only need to identify yourself to an officer and notify them if you have a firearm in the vehicle that is concealed. That’s it. Otherwise, those other questions about where you are going and where you are coming from are not required to be answered. The officer may get frustrated when you refuse and give you a ticket, but that is a lot better than going to jail. So how do you answer? As stated in a prior post, my suggestion is “My attorney has instructed me not to answer questions without him present.” Then stick to that answer.

Myth#5 – Officers can’t follow you outside of their jurisdiction to pull you over.

In North Carolina you might be familiar with some rules which say a city cop can’t pull you over outside of the city. A county sheriff can’t pull you over outside of their own county. While this is generally true, there are exceptions.

First, if the officer/deputy see you commit an offense in their jurisdiction, they can follow you and stop you. Even if the stop occurs just outside of that jurisdiction, the offense did not.

Second, there are task forces and mutual aid agreements between agencies. This means the highway patrol may have a speed trap where several local agencies participate. That is still legal under a mutual aid agreement. If an agency is unable to answer a call for service because all of their officers are busy, a neighboring agency may be asked to respond. The heads of neighboring agencies usually have agreements like this to make certain that calls for service can be answered. Sometimes traffic stops happen as part of that call for service.

Myth#6- Officers can’t make me get out of the car unless they have a reason.

Busted. Although many believe this one, the supreme court has said otherwise. The primary case for this is Pennsylvania v Mimms where the court says an officer can do so for officer safety. In a later case, the court said an officer “may as a matter of course order the driver of a lawfully stopped car to exit the vehicle” Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408 (1997).

So, in short, the officer doesn’t need a good reason. He/she can just tell you to get out. If that happens, comply with the officer’s order. Not doing so will get you arrested and charged with resisting a public officer.

Myth#7- I can get out of the car if I want to.

No. Please don’t ever exit the car unless the officer tells you to. Officers are trained to see this as an immediate threat. Why? Because of past incidents where drivers exit and start immediately shooting at police, they are trained now to expect that a driver exiting may have intent to harm them. They may also think you intend to run away. So please stay in the vehicle unless you are told otherwise.

Myth#8 – I don’t need an attorney for my traffic ticket.

There is a common saying amongst the legal community. “A man who represents himself has a fool for a client.”

Let’s consider something for a minute. If you are not an attorney and you go into court to have a trial over a ticket, you are facing off against an experienced attorney. Even if the prosecutor graduated from law school a week ago, he still has more training on what to do than the average person. There are rules for what questions you can ask at trial and how you can get certain information in. There are rules for admitting pieces of evidence. There are rules for what the prosecutor can and can't ask. But if you walk in there not knowing those rules, the judge isn’t allowed to help you.

Why hire an attorney for a traffic ticket?

For a few reasons…

1)      You may not be required to appear in court unless there is a trial. Sometimes cases are not resolved the first time they are on the court calendar.

2)      An attorney knows all the rules of evidence and criminal procedure.

3)      An attorney may be able to negotiate a reduction to the charge/citation without you even being there.

4)      You may be able to still go to work or go about your personal business while the attorney handles your case.

5)      An attorney may know the local prosecutors and may be able to talk to them about your case to try and resolve it.

Our attorneys at L&N law are both prior prosecutors here in North Carolina. We have had numerous trials in a courtroom and have the experience to handle your case. If you would like to speak to us, please call us at 919-655-3984 or contact us through our website.

About the author:

Ed Nappi is a licensed attorney and former prosecutor in North Carolina. Ed is also a former Master-At-Arms with the U.S. Navy and has been through various types of law enforcement training. Ed is a gun owner and second amendment advocate. He practices in the areas of criminal law, traffic law, contract law, employment law, and dispute resolution.