I noted yesterday that a law enforcement officer conducting a traffic stop may order the driver and any passengers out of the vehicle. It's also reasonably clear that the officer can order the vehicle's occupants to remain in the vehicle. Robert L. Farb, Arrest, Search, and Investigation in North Carolina 30 & n.160 (collecting cases). But can the officer, without any particularized suspicion that the vehicle's occupants are committing any non-traffic offense, order one or more of the occupants into his police cruiser? It's an important question, because if the answer is yes, the officer may also be able to frisk the occupants as a precaution. (More on that below.) Unfortunately, there's no clear answer to the question. A leading commentator presents the authority to "direct[] the driver to be seated . . . in the patrol car during the stop" as if it were as well-established as the authority to order the driver out of his own vehicle. 4 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure 387 (4th ed. 2004). But the cases reveal a much more complicated picture. Some, like State v. Lozada, 748 N.E.2d 520 (Ohio 2001), do indeed endorse the practice, though the Lozada court held that "if the sole reason for placing the driver in the patrol car during the investigation is for the convenience of the officer," the driver may not be frisked. Other cases, though, reach a contrary conclusion. See, e.g., State v. Berrios, 235 S.W.3d 99 (Tenn. 2007) (holding that an officer may not, [...]
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