Passengers are seized in traffic stops
In Brendlin v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a passenger is seized by a traffic stop. Because the passenger is seized, the passenger has standing to challenge the validity of the stop. Here, the State of California conceded there were insufficient grounds to justify the stop
Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Souter noted that the typical passenger would not feel free to leave without permission while police are investigating, even if the traffic stop was solely instigating by the manner of driving. A seizure requires actual submission. A passenger submits to the seizure by failing to leave the scene after the vehicle is halted.
The Court’s conclusion is consistent with the conclusion of the nine circuits, including the Ninth, to have addressed the issue. The Court notes that while it overrules the California Supreme Court, nearly all other states to have addressed the issue have also determined that a passenger is seized by a traffic stop. Only Colorado and Washington had taken California’s view of the matter.
The Court noted that to hold that a passenger is not seized by a traffic stop would be “a powerful inventive to run the sort of ‘roving patrols’ that would still violate the driver’s Fourth Amendment rights.”
