srothstein wrote:I beg to disagree. Probable cause is necessary for any traffic stop.....
While I don't disagree that probable cause plays into the final arrest factor, and that under Texas law a traffic stop is considered an arrest, I think the courts seem to see it differently. Any time I have been in court for jury selection on DWI or other traffic cases (too frequently lately it seems
), or observing a case that I had personal interest in, the Judges have stated that to perform a traffic stop all the officer needs is reasonable suspicion. To execute the arrest for DWI and issue a ticket or take the person into custody, then he had to have probable cause (i.e. failed field sobriety test or BAC.)