United States v. Finch

Case: 25-50568 Document: 68-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 09/10/2026

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals ____________ Fifth Circuit FILED No. 25-50568 September 10, 2026 Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk United States of America, Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Thomas Jorge Finch, Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 5:22-CR-463-1 ______________________________ Before King, Higginson, and Douglas, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam:* Thomas Jorge Finch entered a conditional guilty plea to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens. He appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress the evidence that was derived from the stop of his vehicle for failing to use his turn signal.

Case: 25-50568 Document: 68-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/10/2026

No. 25-50568

“For a traffic stop to be justified at its inception, an officer must have an objectively reasonable suspicion that some sort of illegal activity, such as a traffic violation, occurred, or is about to occur, before stopping the vehicle.” United States v. Lopez-Moreno, 420 F.3d 420, 430 (5th Cir. 2005).

In Texas, a driver must signal to indicate his intention to change lanes. Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 545.104(a); see Mahaffey v. State, 364 S.W.3d 908, 913 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012). Contrary to Finch’s argument, the Texas courts have not rejected the police officer’s interpretation of § 545.104(a). See United States v. Alvarado-Zarza, 782 F.3d 246, 249-50 (5th Cir. 2015). We therefore agree with the district court that, even if the officer had a mistaken understanding of the signal statute, his reliance on it to stop Finch’s vehicle was objectively reasonable. See Heien v. North Carolina, 574 U.S. 54, 60, 66 (2014). Accordingly, the district court properly denied Finch’s motion to suppress. See id. at 68.

AFFIRMED.