Florida District Courts of Appeal, 1992

Jackson v. State

Jackson v. State
Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided March 11, 1992 · Allen, Smith, Zehmer
596 So. 2d 113; 1992 Fla. App. LEXIS 2483; 1992 WL 48938 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Jackson v. State

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

The appellant appeals from his judgment of conviction and sentence for possession of cocaine seized after a police officer stopped an automobile the appellant was driving. Because we agree with the appellant’s argument that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the cocaine, we reverse the conviction and sentence.

The only justification offered by the prosecution for the stop of the appellant’s automobile was the officer’s observation of a minor traffic infraction, a non-functioning tail light. When the prosecution relies solely upon a minor traffic violation as justification for the stop of an automobile, it has the burden of showing that a reasonable officer would have stopped the vehicle under such circumstances. Kehoe v. State, 521 So.2d 1094 (Fla. 1988). Our review of the evidence presented below reveals no factual basis for the trial court to have found that the prosecution met this burden. In the absence of such evidence, the motion to-suppress should have been granted.

The judgment of conviction and sentence are reversed and the cause is remanded. Because the granting of the motion to suppress is dispositive of the cause, we direct that the trial court discharge the appellant.

SMITH, ZEHMER and ALLEN, JJ., concur.

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