HIGH COURT RULES TRAFFIC STOP ENDS WHEN TICKET IS ISSUED

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Once a police officer issues a ticket in a
traffic stop, the purpose of the stop is at an end and the motorist is
free to go on his way without further questioning, the Missouri
Supreme Court said Tuesday in reversing a Wayne County man's felony
conviction for drug possession.

The state high court in its unanimous, unsigned opinion agreed with a
December ruling by the Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District in
Springfield that declared evidence essential to Randy T. Bark's
conviction of the class C felony of possession of methamphetamine was
the product of an illegal search in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

On June 30, 2002, Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Michael Carson
stopped Barks for traveling at 74 mph in a 55 mph zone on Highway 34
in Wayne County. After running a check of Barks' license, the trooper
issued him a ticket.

At trial, Carson testified that Barks appeared nervous after receiving
the citation. The trooper began questioning Barks and four times
asked, but was denied, permission to search his pickup truck.

Barks ultimately agreed to a search of his person, which yielded a
piece of tin foil that had traces of methamphetamine on it. After
placing Barks under arrest and reading him his rights, the trooper
searched the truck and found drug paraphernalia and two plastic bags
containing pseudoephedrine tablets, a common cold medication used in
making methamphetamine.

Prior to the trial, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge William C. Seay
overruled Barks' request that the drug-related evidence be excluded on
the grounds of an illegal search.

The Supreme Court said that while the Fourth Amendment allows police
to detain someone during a routine traffic stop, it doesn't authorize
indefinite detention. The trooper's opinion that Barks appeared
nervous didn't meet the standard of reasonable suspicion and was
insufficient to prolong the stop, the court determined.

The state argued Barks voluntarily submitted to the continued
questioning because he was free to drive away after receiving the
ticket. However, the trooper never told Barks he could go, and the
court said a reasonable person would conclude the situation was one of
custody.