SAN DIEGO DISTRICT ATTORNEY The Fourth Amendment and ...

A report from a citizen describing a
contemporaneous event of reckless driving,
presumably viewed by the caller, adds to the
reliability of the information and reduces the
likelihood that the caller is merely harassing
an enemy.
The level of intrusion upon one’s personal
privacy (in a place with a reduced
expectation of privacy) and the
inconvenience involved in a brief vehicle
stop is considerably less than an
“embarrassing police search” on a public
street (as occurred in Florida v. J.L.).
Reliability is added by the relatively precise
and accurate description given by the tipster
regarding the vehicle type, color, location
and direction of travel.
© 2012 Robert C. Phillips. All rights reserved
An anonymous tipster describing defendant’s reckless
driving, giving a specific location and a detailed description
of the car, the driver and the driver’s actions, was held to be
sufficient to provide the necessary indicia of reliability to
justify a traffic stop. (Lowry v. Gutierrez (2005) 129
Cal.App.4 th 926.)
Note: The Court, however, also noted that the
defendant’s liability here was no more than a
driver’s license suspension, as opposed to a criminal
prosecution, allowing for a lesser standard of
“reasonable suspicion.” It is unknown whether the
Court would have applied the same standards had
the consequences been a potential criminal
prosecution and conviction instead.
A stop and detention of a suspect based upon an
anonymous call was held to be justified where the tipster
alleged a dangerous or potentially violent situation, the
alleged crime had just occurred, the suspect would have left
if not detained, and there is no reason to doubt the tipster’s
veracity. (People v. Rodgers (2005) 131 Cal.App.4 th
1560.)
Officers lawfully stopped defendant on information from
an anonymous tipster who reported that defendant was
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