DUI Stops That Are Based on Anonymous Tips: Unlawful in Many States

Any skilled Michigan DUI defense attorney can tell you that there have been a variety of state court cases that have deemed that DUI stops that were made based on anonymous tips were unlawful.

For example, in the state of Texas, an anonymous tipster phoned the county sheriff's department to say that he or she had seen a red pickup truck going the wrong way in the northbound lane. At that time, the informant's identity was unknown, as was the informant's reliability and location at the time of the spotting. Accordingly, the Texas court found the stop unlawful, noting that caution must be taken in the reliance of an anonymous tip because the tip, on its own, will rarely provide the requisite reasonable suspicion necessary to authorize an investigative stop and detention.

Another example is a Georgia case in which an anonymous tip was left without the inclusion of specific details; it was found insufficient to justify a DUI stop. The court noted that the tip was not particularly predictive of the driver's future behavior by which its reliability could be tested. More specifically, the tip, alone, provided virtually nothing from which one might conclude that the caller was either honest or his information reliable; similarly, the tip gave absolutely no clue as to what the basis was for the caller's predictions with respect to the suspect's criminal activities.

If you need a qualified Michigan DUI defense attorney, call Chris Trainor at (800) 961 - 8477.