People v. Owens CA2/6

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On the afternoon of September 15, 2011, Ventura Police Officer Eric Jackson was on patrol when he saw appellant driving a 1963 Chevy pickup truck. Officer Jackson observed that the truck's rear license plate was placed in the rear window. The

1 We summarily denied appellant's petition for writ review of the court's ruling. (Owens v. Superior Court, County of Ventura (July 18, 2012, B242378).) officer did not see any straps, bolts, or anything else holding the license plate in place. From the officer's perspective, "[i]t appeared it was just sitting in the lip, lying up against the back window, leaving it free to swing forward or move about if the vehicle took a quick turn." Officer Jackson decided to conduct a traffic stop to investigate a suspected violation of Vehicle Code section 5201.2 The officer sought to "determine whether or not the license plate was securely fastened and not just lying up against the window in a manner that could have fallen forward or jostled around during the movement of the vehicle." Officer Jackson approached appellant's truck and asked for his license and registration. As appellant was looking…