Generally yes, an equipment violation is a valid reason for a police officer to pull you over. Equipment violations can be for any part of your vehicle that does not conform to criteria set for street legal vehicles, including broken tail lights, dangerous or improperly secured cargo, or any problems with the license plate.
In order for an equipment violation stop to be valid, the problem with your vehicle that the officer cites as the reason for pulling you over has to actually be illegal. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an officer pulling someone over out of a sincere but mistaken belief that something about the car constitutes an equipment violation is illegal, and any charges that arise from such a stop may be thrown out.
This is not to say, however, any mistakes the officer make can render an equipment violation stop invalid. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has also ruled, in a different case, that an officer’s mistake with regard to the law regarding an equipment violation did not make a traffic stop illegal if the equipment violation was legitimate. The officer’s intent and motivation do not matter what he observed is objectively evidence of a violation.
The DWI laws in New Jersey are filled with counterintuitive wrinkles like this. If you wish to fight your DWI charges, you need a New Jersey DWI attorney who is familiar with all of these legal quirks. For a free initial consultation, fill out the form on this page to contact experienced New Jersey DWI attorney Dan Matrafajlo.
