In Brendlin v. California, Sutter County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Charles Brokenbrough (Bay) noticed a vacant Buick in a parking lot obtaining an expired registration sticker and a valid temporary registration permit displayed in the window. The officer called dispatch and was told an application had been put in process to renew the registration. Later that same day, the officer observed the vehicle driving away with Karen Simeroth behind the wheel. He stopped the driver, so that he could confirm whether or not the temporary permit belonged to that specific vehicle. As he approached the vehicle, he recognized Bruce Brendlin as a suspected parole violator. The officer immediately ordered Brendlin out of the car at gunpoint and arrested him (Atkins, Kimberly: The Daily Record of Rochester (Rochester, NY)). …show more content…
In a trial court held in California, Brendlin filed a motion in order to have the evidence at hand suppressed, claiming that the stop had been an unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The motion was denied, having Brendlin plead guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine. In denying the motion to suppress the drug evidence, Sutter Superior Court Judge Christopher R. Chandler held that Brendlin was seized when Brokenbrough demanded him to exit the Buick, not at the point of the traffic stop. Chandler reasoned that Brendlin was free to leave if he really wanted to (Bay). A California Court of Appeal reversed the decision, holding that a traffic stop naturally concludes in a Fourth Amendment seizure