Walk It Through: The Sidewalk Stop
A stop on a reasonable suspicion, a demand for a name, a pat down, 2 hours at most, and questions in custody.
Walking home in Wilmington after midnight, a person is stopped by an officer looking into a break in nearby.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A stop of a pedestrian on reasonable suspicion. Consent searches, a search of a home, and a stop that turns into a drug arrest are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Blue envelopeAn envelope the State Police provide on request to a driver with a disability, holding the license, registration and insurance card, with guidance for the officer and the driver.
- Detention for questioningA stop of a person reasonably suspected of a crime, to ask name, address, business and destination, lasting no more than 2 hours.
- Insurance identification cardA card from the insurer showing a policy meeting the State's minimums, carried in the vehicle and shown on request, on paper or on a phone.
- Physical injuryThe harm that makes assault in the third degree, a class A misdemeanor, and with a deadly weapon or a victim 62 or older, the second degree.
- Search warrantA judge's written authority to search a described place for described things, on sworn facts showing probable cause.
- SummonsA written order to appear in court an officer may give instead of arresting for a misdemeanor. Wilfully failing to appear can bring up to $100 or 30 days.