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Court Says Reaching for Glovebox During Stop IS Not Suspicious


An Ohio Appeals court recently ruled that reaching for a glovebox during a traffic stop is not suspicious. In this case, defendant nearly struck an unmarked police car, causing her to be pulled over. While this was happening, the police in the vehicle noticed that defendant appeared to be reaching for her glovebox. After searching the vehicle, the police found a gun in the glovebox and arrested the defendant, even though she had a permit for the weapon. The matter went to the appeals court to determine the issue of reaching for the glovebox. The court determined that while the traffic stop was permissible since defendant admitted she was speeding, the reaching for the glovebox by itself did not give the police grounds to search the vehicle.