State of Iowa v. Johnny Lee McFadden, Jr., 16-1184

Des Moines police in a "summer enforcement team" stopped McFadden's car after observing a partially illegible (grime-covered) license plate.
Officers contacted McFadden, confirmed license/registration and ran record checks; checks cleared and McFadden had a valid license.
An officer noticed a backpack wedged between the front seats with two adult men in the car and asked about its contents; McFadden initially denied consent to search.
After an officer joked, McFadden stated the backpack contained six pounds of marijuana. Officers then removed, handcuffed, and searched McFadden and the backpack, finding six compressed bricks of marijuana.
McFadden was charged with possession with intent to deliver, moved to suppress the backpack evidence, the district court denied suppression, he stipulated to a bench trial, was convicted, and appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the traffic stop was supported by probable cause	Stop was lawful because the dirty/illegible plate violated Iowa Code §321.38, giving probable cause	Stop was pretextual or unsupported; stop merits review	Held: Stop was lawful — dirty/obstructed plate provided probable cause (traffic violation)
Whether officers unconstitutionally prolonged the stop to seek consent/search the backpack	Officers could conduct unrelated inquiries during stop; asking about backpack was permissible and produced admission	Once traffic tasks were complete, further questioning/search required reasonable suspicion; officers prolonged detention and lacked reasonable suspicion	Held: Stop was unlawfully prolonged when officer asked to search the backpack after traffic-related tasks concluded; no reasonable suspicion justified extension; evidence suppressed

Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (traffic-stop reasonable where officer has probable cause to believe a traffic violation occurred)
Rodriguez v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 1609 (2015) (a stop may not be prolonged beyond the time reasonably required to handle the traffic violation absent reasonable suspicion)
Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405 (dog sniff during lawful traffic stop not violative if it does not prolong the stop)
Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491 (seizure must be limited in scope and duration to the justification for the stop)
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (investigative stop standard: requires specific and articulable facts)
Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119 (presence in high-crime area and nervousness evaluated in reasonable-suspicion analysis but insufficient alone)
State v. Pardee, 872 N.W.2d 384 (Iowa) (applying Rodriguez principles to traffic stops)
State v. Tyler, 830 N.W.2d 288 (Iowa) (Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures)
State v. Storm, 898 N.W.2d 140 (Iowa) (standard of review for suppression rulings)
State v. Pals, 805 N.W.2d 767 (Iowa) (probable cause for traffic stop under Whren)
State v. Tague, 676 N.W.2d 197 (Iowa) (reasonable suspicion requires specific, articulable facts)