English v. State
Annotate this CaseDefendant was stopped by two police officers for a violation of Fla. Stat. 316.605(1), which requires a license plate to be plainly visible and free of “obscuring matter.” A seizure of evidence during the course of the traffic stop resulted in criminal charges against Defendant. Defendant filed a motion to suppress, arguing that the stop was invalid. The trial court granted the motion. The Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed, concluding that Defendant violated the statute when his tag light, along with its attached wires, was hanging down in front of his license plate. Defendant appealed, arguing that a hanging tag light did not constitute the type of obscuring matter contemplated by the statute because the tag light was external to the license plate, not on it. The Supreme Court approved the decision of the Fifth District, holding that section 316.605(1) requires that a license plate be plainly visible and legible at all times without regard to whether the obscuring matter is on or external to the plate.
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