Jaganathan v. Texas (original by presiding judge keller)
Annotate this CaseThe traffic stop at issue occurred mid-afternoon, while State Trooper Thomas Norsworthy was patrolling an eastbound section of Interstate 10. The relevant events were captured on video from the dashboard camera in the trooper's vehicle. This section of Interstate 10 has three lanes. Trooper Norsworthy was driving in the left lane, going faster than the other cars on the road. It From the video, it appeared that appellant’s car was at the front of a short line of vehicles traveling in the left lane. Appellant passed a “Left Lane for Passing Only” sign. About four or five seconds later, while Trooper Norsworthy was in the right lane, he passed the sign. Appellant’s vehicle continued to travel in the left lane. Another four or five seconds later, Trooper Norsworthy moved out of the right lane, across the middle lane, and into the left lane. The Trooper then followed behind appellant’s vehicle in the left lane for ten to twelve seconds. During this interval, the middle lane was clear of traffic, and appellant was not passing any other vehicles. Appellant turned on her left turn signal, then turned it off and turned on her right turn signal, and then moved into the middle lane. Trooper Norsworthy turned on his overhead lights, and the two vehicles pulled to the side of the road. During the course of the stop, Trooper Norsworthy smelled marijuana, searched appellant’s vehicle, and found marijuana in the trunk. As a result of this incident, appellant was charged with possession of marijuana. She filed a motion to suppress, which was denied. Pursuant to an agreement, she pled guilty and was placed on deferred adjudication. On appeal, appellant claimed that Trooper Norsworthy lacked reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop. The court of appeals agreed. After review, the Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that the facts surrounding this conduct did not establish beyond question that appellant needed to remain in the left lane for safety purposes, and that the trooper had reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop. Consequently, the Court reversed the court of appeals.
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