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State v. Muller6/1/2005
t information provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles was not chargeable to a law enforcement agency for the same reasons used by the Iowa court in Ewoldt, 448 NW2d 676, that is, the Department of Motor Vehicles is entrusted by statute to record and maintain driver's license records, and is an official source of such information that is independent of law enforcement agencies. Id. at 407.
[ .] Jennings, McElhaney and Mackey are distinguishable from the instant case, in that the database relied upon by Officer Toomey was not maintained and updated by the Watertown Police Department itself, or by another law enforcement agency. Instead, the motor vehicle registration database is maintained by the South Dakota Department of Revenue and Regulation, which is charged with the duty of performing all "functions, duties, and services with respect to the registration and licensing of motor vehicles . . .." SDCL 32-1-3. The registration application process and collection of fees is conducted by the county treasurer of the vehicle owner's county of residence, and fees and information are submitted to the Department of Revenue and Regulation. SDCL 32-1-6 and 32-5-2. The South Dakota Department of Revenue and Regulation and the county treasurers are independent of law enforcement agencies.
[ .] Officer Toomey had a reasonable and objective belief that Defendant might be driving with expired plates upon observing the vehicle and its partially covered license plate. Officer Toomey obtained information through police dispatch from the Department of Revenue and Regulation registration database that indicated Defendant's plates were expired, which gave him a reasonable and objective belief that Defendant was driving with expired plates. Even after observing what Officer Toomey subjectively believed to be a valid renewal sticker, he was objectively justified in proceeding with the traffic stop based on his observation and the fact that he had never received incorrect vehicle registration information through dispatch from the Department of Revenue and Regulation. It is objectively reasonable for an officer to further investigate the inconsistency between a visual inspection of a registration sticker and information obtained from computerized records maintained by a separate and trustworthy state agency when the officer has never before received incorrect information from that agency.
[ .] Officer Toomey did not exceed the limits of a lawful investigative detention in violation of the Fourth Amendment, as he was conducting a brief investigatory stop to determine if Defendant was driving with expired plates. Officer Toomey was within the scope of the original stop when he asked for Defendant's driver's license, registration and insurance coverage information, and when Toomey asked Defendant to accompany him to and sit in the patrol car during the investigation. Evidence of Defendant's intoxication and driving with a revoked license was obtained during the scope of a proper investigatory stop, and is thus admissible at trial on the charges of driving under the influence and driving under revocation.
[ .] Reversed.
[ .] SABERS, KONENKAMP, ZINTER, and MEIERHENRY, Justices, concur.
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