What is the correct legal standard under which a police officer may stop a motor vehicle in New York state for a traffic violation? While that is a straightforward question, the answer remains elusive based on several decisions from the New York Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Forty-three years ago, the New York Court of Appeals held, in People v. Ingle, 36 N.Y.2d 413, that a police officer may not stop an automobile for a traffic offense unless the officer reasonably suspects a violation of the Vehicle and Traffic Law.

That quantum of evidence remained the standard for automobile traffic stops until the New York Court of Appeals addressed the issue of pretext automobile stops in People v. Robinson, 97 N.Y.2d 341. The court, as a matter of state constitutional law, adopted Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996), in which the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the argument that pretext stops were unlawful. In Robinson, the court held that a pretext stop is valid as long as a police officer has probable cause to believe that there was a violation of the Vehicle and Traffic Law.