07/01/2022
What are all the things a police officer can and cannot do during a traffic stop? Can Police order you out of your vehicle during a traffic stop for a minor violation? Answer: Yes. US Supreme Court cases Pennsylvania v. Mimms and Maryland v. Wilson established that an officer making a traffic stop may order the driver AND passengers to get out of the car pending completion of the stop. In the balance between personal freedoms and public interest, the Court reasoned that ordering occupants out of a vehicle is a minimal intrusion on their personal freedoms. So, an officer has a right to remove the driver and passengers or at least ask them to exit the car, but do the occupants have the right to refuse to get out? No.
