State v. Hinz, A-16-568

At ~2 a.m., Officer Kenneth Morrow observed a northbound Dodge pickup on I-180 with an extraordinarily bright LED light bar that he testified produced a "glaring or dazzling" effect and obscured other vehicles.
Morrow was outside his patrol cruiser when he first observed the lights; the driver turned off the bright lights immediately before passing him.
Morrow followed the pickup, stopped it at First and Benton, and initiated contact; he smelled alcohol, conducted a DUI investigation, and arrested Hinz for DUI. The officer said the stop was based on a violation of Lincoln Municipal Code §10.22.050 (prohibiting headlamps that project a glaring or dazzling light).
Hinz was initially also cited under the municipal headlamp ordinance; the State later dismissed the headlamp charge but retained the DUI charge.
Hinz moved to suppress, argued the stop violated the Fourth Amendment because Neb. Rev. Stat. §60-6,224 requires a signal to dim headlights before stopping and that the municipal ordinance conflicts with state law and is unenforceable; county and district courts denied relief and convicted him of DUI.
On appeal to this court, Hinz’s sole assignment of error was that the stop violated the Fourth Amendment; the court affirmed, finding the officer had reasonable suspicion based on a valid municipal ordinance.

Issue	Hinz's Argument	State/Officer's Argument	Held
Whether the traffic stop violated the Fourth Amendment	Stop was unlawful because §60-6,224 required the officer to signal Hinz to dim lights before stopping; municipal ordinance conflicts with state statute and is void	Officer lawfully relied on a valid Lincoln ordinance (§10.22.050); observation of glaring lights gave reasonable suspicion to stop	Stop was lawful; officer reasonably relied on the municipal ordinance and had reasonable suspicion

State v. Hill, 288 Neb. 767, 851 N.W.2d 670 (discusses standard of review for suppression rulings)
State v. Matit, 288 Neb. 163, 846 N.W.2d 232 (same)
State v. Bol, 288 Neb. 144, 846 N.W.2d 241 (reasonable suspicion and investigatory stop standards)
State v. Sanders, 289 Neb. 335, 855 N.W.2d 350 (a traffic violation, however minor, supplies probable cause for a stop)
State v. Sanodval, 280 Neb. 309, 788 N.W.2d 172 (prosecutorial charging discretion)
State v. Ball, 271 Neb. 140, 710 N.W.2d 592 (officers need not be legal scholars)
State v. Bartlett, 210 Neb. 886, 317 N.W.2d 102 (prosecutor’s ultimate charging responsibility)