Duncan v. State, 331 Ga. App. 254

Deputy stopped Lisa Smoak Duncan for speeding (85 mph in a 65 mph zone) and issued a citation.
Officer returned Duncan’s license and gave her a copy of the ticket; dispatch had said her license was clear and that she was on probation (reason unknown).
After issuing the ticket, the officer asked Duncan about her probation, whether she used drugs, and whether there were drugs in the car; Duncan denied having drugs and appeared nervous.
The officer then requested and received Duncan’s consent to search; a backup arrived ~2 minutes later and the search produced methamphetamine in a pipe on the passenger seat.
Duncan moved to suppress the drugs, arguing the officer unlawfully prolonged the traffic stop by continuing to detain and question her after the ticket was issued.
Trial court denied suppression; appellate court granted interlocutory review and reversed, concluding the post-ticket detention and search lacked reasonable suspicion and unlawfully expanded the stop.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Duncan)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
Whether officer lawfully continued detention after issuing traffic citation	Continued detention and questioning after ticket completion lacked reasonable suspicion, so seizure/search invalid	Overall detention (~12 minutes) was reasonable; officer requested consent before stop concluded	Reversed: stop ended when ticket issued; further detention/questioning required reasonable suspicion, which was lacking
Whether consent to search cured Fourth Amendment defect	Consent came after an unlawful continuation of the stop and was tainted by detention	Consent was voluntary and occurred before stop concluded	Held consent was obtained during an unlawful second detention and did not validate the search
Whether Duncan’s probation status justified search without suspicion	Probation alone does not permit search absent a search condition or reasonable suspicion	Probation status supported further inquiry/search	Held probation status alone insufficient; no evidence of search condition or reasonable suspicion
Whether nervous behavior justified reasonable suspicion	Nervousness, shifting, looking away insufficient to create reasonable suspicion	Nervous demeanor supported further investigation	Held nervous behavior alone did not establish reasonable suspicion

Brown v. State, 293 Ga. 787 (trial-court factual findings reviewed for clear error)
State v. Palmer, 285 Ga. 75 (legal application to undisputed facts reviewed de novo)
Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405 (traffic stop prolonged beyond ticket mission becomes unlawful)
Rodriguez v. State, 295 Ga. 362 (continued detention after citation requires reasonable suspicion)
Bennett v. State, 285 Ga. App. 796 (investigative stop must be brief and limited to mission)
Salmeron v. State, 280 Ga. 735 (traffic stop ends when ticket issued; continued detention unjustified)
United States v. Knights, 534 U.S. 112 (probation status alone does not dispense with need for reasonable suspicion)
Arizona v. Johnson, 555 U.S. 323 (traffic stop ends when officer informs driver they are free to leave)