WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT: VEHICLE SEARCH WAS ILLEGAL

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Police shouldn't have searched a man during a
traffic stop simply because they saw him reach under the front seat
and he fell down, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

The court said those actions weren't enough to support officers'
claim that they believed Gary Johnson was hiding a weapon or drugs.
Its 5-2 decision affirmed a 2005 appeals court ruling that reversed
his conviction on a drug charge.

"Given the circumstances, there was no reasonable grounds to believe
he was armed and dangerous," said Johnson's attorney, Eileen Hirsch.
"He's one very happy client today."

The case stems from a November 2003 traffic stop in Racine.

Officers Chad Stillman and Michael Dummer stopped Johnson's car for
failing to signal for a turn. Stillman had stopped the same car with
someone else driving the day before after discovering its
registration had been suspended for an emissions violation.

According to court documents, the officers saw Johnson lean forward
and reach under his seat. Both officers testified they believed
Johnson was hiding drugs or a weapon.

Stillman told Johnson he was being stopped for an emissions
violation. Johnson gave Stillman paperwork showing the problem had
been fixed.

Stillman then asked Johnson to get out of the car. He complied.

Dummer testified the officers asked Johnson to get out of the car
because they thought he might have grabbed a weapon from beneath the
seat and feared for their safety. After Johnson tried to fall during
a search of his left leg, Stillman told him they were going to search
his car.

"I don't have a problem with that," Johnson replied.

Stillman found marijuana under the seat and crack cocaine in
Johnson's left pants pocket.

Johnson was convicted on a charge of cocaine possession with intent
to deliver and sentenced to three years in prison.

But the Supreme Court ruled Johnson never consented to the search.
His statement amounted to only acceptance, the court said.

The court noted Stillman testified that he didn't remember asking
Johnson for permission to search the car and didn't note any such
request in his report. Dummer testified that they would have gone
ahead with the search regardless of what Johnson said.

The situation didn't justify a search either, the court added.
Johnson was suspected only of an emissions violation and failing to
signal, neither a criminal activity.

Upholding Johnson's conviction could have led to police searching
people for leaning over to turn off their radio or reaching for a
wallet, Hirsch said.

Justice Patience Roggensack wrote in a dissent that Johnson's
movements could have signaled a weapon and he did, in fact, consent
to the search.

Kevin St. John, a spokesman for the state Justice Department, which
handles felony appeals for the state, didn't immediately return a
message.