{"id":46510,"date":"2020-12-21T08:01:02","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T13:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=46510"},"modified":"2020-12-21T08:01:02","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T13:01:02","slug":"nd-while-cracked-windshield-isnt-violation-of-state-law-it-wasnt-unreasonable-for-officer-to-conclude-it-was","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=46510","title":{"rendered":"ND: While cracked windshield isn’t violation of state law, it wasn’t unreasonable for officer to conclude it was"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A cracked windshield on the passenger side is not a violation of state law, but it was not unreasonable for the officer to conclude that it was. Therefore, the stop was not unreasonable. State v. Bolme<\/a>, 2020 ND 255, 2020 N.D. LEXIS 258 (Dec. 17, 2020):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

[*P10] This Court has not previously determined whether operating a motor vehicle with a cracked windshield is a violation of N.D.C.C. \u00a7 39-21-39(1). However, several other courts have interpreted nearly identical statutes to conclude that a crack is not included within the definition of nontransparent material. \u2026<\/p>

[*P11] Our conclusion that the cracked windshield was not a violation of N.D.C.C. \u00a7 39-21-39(1) does not end our review. The district court found the officer had a reasonable, articulable suspicion sufficient to justify the stop of Bolme’s vehicle based on the cracked windshield. In reaching that finding, the court noted it was not objectively unreasonable for the officer to believe the crack on Bolme’s windshield would make it difficult for a driver to see the roadway on that side of the windshield and that the officer had an objectively reasonable belief that such an obstruction was a violation of North Dakota law prohibiting drivers from having nontransparent material on a windshield that obstructs a driver’s clear view. The court findings on the objectively reasonable belief of the officer were as follows: \u2026<\/p>

[*P12] Under our deferential standard of review, the district court’s findings of fact are affirmed. The court did not err in finding the officer’s belief the law prohibits a cracked windshield which obstructs a driver’s clear view was objectively reasonable under these circumstances. See Hirschkorn, 2016 ND 117, \u00b6 14 (“Whether a driver committed a traffic violation does not control whether an officer had the reasonable suspicion necessary to justify a traffic stop.”). Prior to this case, we had not interpreted N.D.C.C. \u00a7 39-21-39(1) with respect to cracked windshields. While we have concluded that operating a motor vehicle with a cracked windshield is not a violation of N.D.C.C. \u00a7 39-21-39(1), absent the determination provided by this opinion, it was not objectively unreasonable for the officer to believe a violation occurred.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A cracked windshield on the passenger side is not a violation of state law, but it was not unreasonable for the officer to conclude that it was. Therefore, the stop was not unreasonable. State v. Bolme, 2020 ND 255, 2020 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reasonableness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46510"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46511,"href":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46510\/revisions\/46511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}