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The war on drugs is big business on Kansas highways. Police troll the highways looking for cars with out-of-state license plates and drivers that fit the profile of a drug courier. When a target is located, police find a reason to make a traffic stop. Common explanations for the “routine traffic stop” include following too closely, changing lanes without a signal, driving in the passing lane for too long, a license plate with edges obstructed by a frame, and dispatch telling the officer that the license plate for some reason is “not on file.” Of course, the real reason for the stop is that the driver fits a profile.

During the traffic stop, police ask the driver and passengers questions, scan the inside of the car through the windows, and, literally, smell the air inside the car. They look for any reason to justify continuing to detain the driver and to search the car. When the traffic stop is complete, police ask the driver if there is anything illegal in the car and then ask for consent to search. By the time the officer has decided to ask these questions, he has already decided that he is going to search the car. It may not stop the search, but saying “no” puts us in a good position to defend the case. It forces the officer to justify the continued detention, makes him try to quickly get a “drug dog” to the scene, and forces a prosecutor to justify a probable cause search of the car.

If you have been stopped in Kansas and arrested for possession of drugs, you need to quickly hire a defense attorney who knows these police tactics. You need an attorney who can convince a judge that your rights were violated. Most importantly, you need an attorney with a record of winning motions to suppress evidence obtained in violation of defendant’s rights.