Pretextual Vehicle Stops And Windshield Obstruction
The word “upon” in the context of statutes similar to NRS 484.619 has been decided to mean “that the object be on or in direct contact with the windshield-it does not prohibit items hanging from rearview mirrors.” See U.S. v. King, 244 F.3d 736, 740 (9th Cir. 2001). In King, the Ninth Circuit, interpreting the statutory meaning of the word “upon” (the windshield) of Anchorage Municipal Code[1] relating to windshield obstruction, held that “[t]he plain meaning of the statute requires that the object be on or in direct contact with the windshield-it does not prohibit items hanging from rearview mirrors.” U.S. v. King, 244 F.3d 736, 740 (9th Cir. 2001). Accordingly, the King court reversed the district court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress. Id. at 737.
NRS 484.619 is identical in its meaning and intent to the applicable Anchorage Code, set forth in FN 1, above, and interpreted by the court in King. The relevant and operative language of NRS 484.619 is nearly identical to Anchorage Municipal Code Sec. 9.36.040(D). As such, the word “upon” in NRS 484.619 means ‘upon the windshield’ and not on the rearview mirror. Any other interpretation, in light of King, would be inconsistent with the Ninth Circuit’s reasoning.
Based on the foregoing reasoning, when a police officer makes a mistake of law regarding NRS 484.619, it precludes a finding of reasonable suspicion for said stop. As explained in King, “a belief based on a mistaken understanding of the law cannot constitute a constitutional traffic stop.” King, 244 F.3d at 739, citing U.S. v. Twilley, 222 F.3d 1092, 1096 (9th Cir. 2000). Accordingly, in the case where an officer stops a vehicle under NRS 484.619 for a placard or similar item hanging from the rearview mirror, the stopping of Defendant constitutes an unlawful seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
[1] Anchorage Municipal Code Sec. 9.36.040(D) provided, “No person may drive any motor vehicle with any sign, poster, nontransparent material or an accumulation of snow, ice or frost upon the front windshield, side wings, or side or rear windows of such vehicle which materially obstructs, obscures or impairs the driver’s clear view of the street or any intersecting street.” See U.S. v. King, 244 F.3d 736, 739-40 (9th Cir. 2001).
