Q: If officer follows you presuming erroneously initial violation and then sees a legitimate violation, is it a legal stop?
Offices started following me for a wide left turn, which is not a thing since statute in MN does not specify a lane. However then officer saw me cross fog line and pulled me over? Is this a legitimate stop since everything started on the erroneous assumption by the officer that I made an illegal wide turn? This in turn prompted him to follow me, which may have not been the case since there were many opportunities for the officer to go down other roads if he wasn’t following me, which in turn would preclude him from observing the actual violation.
A: The officer doesn't need a legal reason to follow you. He or she only needs a legally sufficient basis to pull you over. Crossing the fog line could be such a legal basis. But don't take the officer's word for it. You should get an attorney and have the attorney view video of the traffic stop to ensure that that claim that you crossed the fog line is true.
A: Police justify most traffic stops in two way: violation of (traffic) law; or driving conduct that raises reasonable suspicion of criminal activity (e.g. DWI). If they have either or both, a judge will find the stop lawful. I've won cases where the basis for the traffic stop was "crossing the fog line" once. Your criminal defense lawyer should be able to help you with this. Make some calls, if you don't already have one.
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