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Martin v. State

An officer lacked probable cause to stop the defendant for impeding traffic based on her two to three second delay in proceeding through a green light on a 4-lane road.

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Susan E. Martin appeals the trial court’s denial of her motion to suppress evidence following a traffic stop. Because we conclude that the arresting officer lacked a reasonable articulable suspicion for stopping Martin’s car, we reverse.

The evidence at the motion hearing showed that Martin was stopped at a traffic light when a Cherokee County deputy sheriff’s car approached her from behind. The officer testified that he did not know what color the light was when he first crested the hill before the traffic light. But as he approached Martin’s car, the light was green and Martin was not proceeding through the intersection. The officer testified that he was within two or three seconds of having to make a complete stop before Martin began moving forward. The road was four lanes wide, with turn lanes to the right and left and two lanes continuing straight ahead. A car in the left lane was driving through the intersection, and no other cars besides Martin’s were on the road. The officer initiated a traffic stop because, as he said, Martin had “impeded my flow of traffic through the intersection.” There was nothing unusual about how Martin drove through the intersection, and the fact that she was sitting still under a green light was the only suspicious behavior the officer saw. He cited her for impeding the flow of traffic in violation of OCGA § 40-6-1841 and for DUI.

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