Boxing Gloves Hanging From Mirror Leads To Arrest
On July 31, 2009, the Appellate Division in State v. Barrow, held that an ornamental pair of small boxing gloves, hanging from the defendant’s rear-view mirror gave a police officer the necessary reasonable and articulable suspicion to perform a motor vehicle stop of the defendant’s car. The stop of the defendant’s motor vehicle led to an arrest for possession controlled dangerous substances.
The New Jersey Statute, codified as N.J.S.A. 39:3-74, reads“[N]o person shall drive any vehicle so constructed, equipped or loaded as to unduly interfere with the driver's vision to the front and to the sides.”
What this means is that you the driver, is legally subject to being stopped for anything that obstructs your windshield. This opinion provides great ammunition for police officers to stop any driver they want who is remotely in violation of the statute regardless of how proper the driving conduct is. However, the State and Federal Constitution still require probable cause to search a person's vehicle after they have been stopped for a traffic offense.
By: Thomas H. Martin, Esq.
