WASHINGTON — Millions have seen the video from Texas where driver Sandra Bland is pulled over by a trooper and refuses to leave her vehicle before the two become entangled in a physical confrontation.
It has led to a nationwide question about the constitutional rights of drivers during a traffic stop.
“The officer does not have the right to order you to do certain things, like stop smoking,” says Georgetown University law professor Paul Rothstein.
In the Texas dashcam video, Bland is told to put out her cigarette.
According to Rothstein, officers can only command drivers to do such a thing if their actions are interfering with the officer’s questions. For instance, a driver can be forced to stop talking on a cellphone.
Police officers cannot search a driver’s trunk or his personal belongings without probable cause, but they do have the right to order a driver to leave his vehicle.
“It’s a question of officer safety because if you are still sitting in the car, you might reach for a weapon or something like that,” Rothstein says.
But even if an officer is clearly doing something unconstitutional, some experts advise drivers to listen to the command and do what they are told.
“My suggestion would be to comply on the street, contest in the court. You can always hash that out in front of a judge,” says former Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey.
