Main/During traffic stops, why do the police ask for your vehicle registration and insurance?/c000045
I got very excited when I finally had a case come into my office that involved the issues Ryan discusses above. Unfortunately, I found a case that shoots down much of the argument, Brown v. MVD, 157 Or App 167 (1998): "the officer's request for registration and proof of insurance was not an improper expansion of the stop. In State v. Black, 146 Or.App. 1, 932 P.2d 554, rev. den. 325 Or. 247, 936 P.2d 363 (1997), an officer stopped the defendant on suspicion of illegal dumping, requested the same documents that Boe requested in this case, and made observations during the defendant's search for those documents that led him to arrest defendant for DUII. We held that the request was not an improper expansion of the stop, stating:
'Likewise, request of documentation of registration was related to proof of ownership of the van and was reasonably related to the investigation. Although requesting proof of insurance may not be directly related to illegal dumping, its inclusion in the requests for other documentation is related to the general investigation into identification of defendant and ownership of the van thought to be involved in the crime.' Id. at 5, 932 P.2d 554. Consistent with Black, we find that Boe's request for registration and proof of insurance was reasonably related to the purpose of the traffic stop in this case and was not an impermissible expansion of the stop under ORS 810.410."
