D.Mont.: Asking driver during traffic stop about probationary status not unreasonable

During this traffic stop, the officer asked defendant about his probationary status, and this did not unreasonably extend the stop. It relates to officer safety. United States v. Malloy, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159841 (D. Mont. Aug. 18, 2025):

The Ninth Circuit left open the question of whether asking about a person’s probation status during a traffic stop runs afoul of the Fourth Amendment. However, the Court finds that a person’s status as a probationer relates to the mission of the traffic stop because, like an individual’s parole status, it concerns officer safety. “The very assumption of the institution of probation is that the probationer is more likely than the ordinary citizen to violate the law.” United States v. Knights, 534 U.S. 112, 119-20 (2001). In fact, “[t]he recidivism rate of probationers is significantly higher than the general crime rate.” Id. at 120. An inquiry into probation status is akin to police officers running a criminal history check, as it provides the officer with notice that the individual has been convicted of a crime and is more likely to commit a crime in the future.

On the other hand, contacting a suspect’s probation officer to ask about a probationary search falls outside the mission of the traffic stop. This inquiry is “a measure aimed at detecting evidence of ordinary criminal wrongdoing,” rather than a task that stems from the mission of the traffic stop. Rodriguez, 575 U.S. at 355-56. Such questions are more akin to a felony registration check than a criminal history background check. Similar to a felon registration check, where law enforcement determines whether the individual is complying with state law, inquiries into whether a probation officer will authorize a probation search are unrelated to officer safety and instead concern evidence of ordinary criminal wrongdoing.