The New Jersey Supreme Court continued in relevant part: Defendants moved to suppress the evidence found in the car. The trial court denied the motions. After being convicted for weapon possession by a jury, defendants appealed. They challenged the denial of their suppression motions and asserted that the jury charge on gun possession was plainly erroneous. In addition, Williams individually claimed he was deprived of a fair trial because the jury was made aware of his protests to the search at the scene. The Appellate Division rejected defendants’ arguments and affirmed their convictions and sentences. The Court granted certification.
An MDT query revealing that a vehicle’s owner has a suspended New Jersey driver’s license provides constitutionally valid reasonable suspicion authorizing the officer to stop the vehicle — unless the officer pursuing the vehicle has a sufficient objective basis to believe that the driver does not resemble the owner. If, upon stopping the vehicle, it becomes reasonably apparent to the officer that the driver does not look like the owner whose license is suspended, the officer must cease the vehicle’s detention and communicate that the motorist is free to drive away without further delay.
Based on the specific facts presented here, the initial stop of the vehicle was valid because it was based on reasonable suspicion. However, the detention of defendants and the borrowed car was unconstitutionally prolonged after the officer recognized the driver was not the car’s owner. The officer’s admittedly uncertain ability to tell if he smelled marijuana was inadequate evidence of “plain smell” to justify a continuation of the stop and a search of the vehicle.
Interesting questions arise when an officer stops a vehicle in which the driver obviously does not look like the registered owner. Is it reasonable to assume that the owner may have drastically changed their appearance, including their gender, since their picture in the MDT was taken? If not, would this encourage drivers to travel in disguise when they know that they have a suspended license?
