I think Leon is right about this.LeonCarr wrote:So the only time you can have a witness to a criminal offense is on a traffic stop?
38.02(b)(3) does not differentiate between a traffic stop and a "house stop".
Just my .02,
LeonCarr
The "simply passenger" may not be so simple after all. If you are a front-seat passenger and the officer suspects the driver of DWI then...guess what...yep..the witness requirement could be triggered. Same for speeding--depending on the circumstances.
And of course we can think of hypotheticals where the person answering the door would be a witness too.
I enjoy playing the questions game with the officers on the rare occasion I am stopped. I understand I need not answer many of their questions but I do anyway to show I am a "good guy" with nothing to hide. There are officers who will say well he passed the attitude test so I did not write him a citation.....and yes, there are officers who would write a citation anyway.
A few years back the Highway Patrol stopped me because he did not like the way I passed another vehicle. I truthfully answered all of his questions and he sent me on my way--no citation--did not even ask to see my driver's license. Maybe it was because when I rolled my window down he did not smell anything suspicious....There are officers out there "fishing" whether they admit it or not.
And, like Leon said, just my two cents too.