Spicer

Defendant Shirley Ann Spicer is charged with wilfully and unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon and with wilfully and unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm in a public place. Defendant pled not guilty and moved to suppress evidence under Penal Code section 1538.5 contending the discovery of the firearm resulted from an unlawful search and seizure.

The motion to suppress was granted. That ruling was reversed by the appellate department of the superior court in an opinion certified for publication. We ordered the case transferred to this court to settle an important question of law: whether a police officer’s request that an automobile passenger not suspected of any crime produce her driver’s license, which led directly to the discovery of the weapon, constituted an unlawful seizure. Under the circumstances of this case we find it does and accordingly affirm the trial court.

Facts

At approximately 1:30 a.m., Police Officers Meek and Webster were on routine patrol when they observed an automobile driven by Thomas Brotwell. The car weaved back and forth between the number two and three lanes approximately four times. The officers also noticed the rear license plate was…