State v. Ashby, 2017 ND 74

Background

On Aug. 26, 2015, a North Dakota trooper received a BOLO reporting two minor children with parents Matthew and Caren Ashby, who were "reportedly using drugs heavily," and describing a 2007 white Crown Victoria with WA plates or a brown Suburban.
The trooper encountered a white Crown Victoria with peeling hood paint and WA plates, turned and followed; the vehicle immediately exited to a rarely used rest area.
The trooper observed an adult male, adult female, and two small children outside the vehicle at the rest area; none entered the rest-stop facility.
The trooper verified BOLO details, spoke with Stutsman County Social Services (Libby) who confirmed concerns and investigations into the Ashbys, and learned Officer Ackland had contacted Caren Ashby’s grandmother, who (the grandmother) said Caren was high on heroin when picking up the children.
The trooper followed the vehicle, consulted a highway patrol sergeant about procedure, then stopped the car in Fessenden; during the stop an occupant volunteered there was a marijuana pipe, officers searched, found contraband, and arrested the occupants.
The district court granted Ashby’s motion to suppress, concluding the trooper lacked reasonable suspicion to initiate the traffic stop; the State appealed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Ashby)	Held
Whether the officer had reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop the vehicle	Tip, BOLO verification, conversation with social services and Officer Ackland (including grandmother’s report), the vehicle’s prompt exit to rest area, and officer inferences provided reasonable suspicion of criminal activity	The stop lacked independent corroboration of drug use or impaired/erratic driving and thus was unsupported by reasonable suspicion	The Court held the totality of circumstances gave reasonable suspicion to stop for potential crimes (e.g., child endangerment, possession, ingestion, reckless endangerment); reversal of suppression order and remand
Whether the grandmother’s report was reliable enough to support reasonable suspicion	The grandmother was easily ascertainable (not truly anonymous) and her contemporaneous report that Caren was high on heroin carried heightened indicia of reliability when combined with other facts	The grandmother’s report was a bare assertion lacking detail about how she knew Caren was high, so it was insufficient absent corroboration	The Court treated the grandmother as an easily ascertainable informant and found her tip, together with corroborating facts, supported reasonable suspicion
Whether the officer was required to independently corroborate impaired driving specifically before stopping the vehicle	No; officer needed reasonable suspicion of criminal activity generally, not solely corroboration of impaired driving	Yes; district court required corroboration of impaired driving and erred	The Court held the district court misapplied the law by focusing only on impaired driving corroboration; reasonable suspicion of other crimes sufficed

Key Cases Cited

Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996) (temporary traffic stops are seizures subject to Fourth Amendment reasonableness)
State v. Knox, 873 N.W.2d 664 (N.D. 2016) (reasonable-suspicion standard for investigatory traffic stops)
State v. Musselman, 881 N.W.2d 201 (N.D. 2016) (evaluate information known at time of stop under totality of circumstances; officers may rely on inferences from training and experience)
City of Dickinson v. Hewson, 803 N.W.2d 814 (N.D. 2011) (reliability spectrum for informant tips; easily ascertainable informants carry greater indicia of reliability)
State v. Miller, 510 N.W.2d 638 (N.D. 1994) (distinguishing anonymous tips from identifiable informants)
Anderson v. Director, N.D. Dep’t of Transp., 696 N.W.2d 918 (N.D. 2005) (information from an informant who is easily ascertainable has higher reliability and may require less independent corroboration)