A(nother) Hypothetical

[alphonso]

OK, what's your take on this one:

1) Husband and wife both have CHLs
2) They go out to a party, he drinks, she is the designated driver and does not drink at all
3) They get stopped by police on the way home
4) She displays her CHL and says that there is a gun in the center console of the car and that it is under her control
5) The husband is sitting in the passenger seat with a buzz on, his CHL in his pocket, and a gun not a foot away

Thanks in advance...

[The Mad Moderate]

IMO IANAL I think it would be ok so long as the drunk person is not in possession of the gun but I can see a lot of gray area.

[alphonso]

IMO IANAL I think it would be ok so long as the drunk person is not in possession of the gun but I can see a lot of gray area.

Hey, I wasn't drunk, just buzzed Not really, this is truely a hypothetical...

[The Mad Moderate]

IMO IANAL I think it would be ok so long as the drunk person is not in possession of the gun but I can see a lot of gray area.

Hey, I wasn't drunk, just buzzed Not really, this is truely a hypothetical...

And I only had one or two beers ocfasir

[WildBill]

IMO, you would be okay.

[suthdj]

Depends on the mind set of the officer. If he is having a rotten day he might want to share the moment.

[BrianSW99]

If the officer thinks he's too intoxicated to carry a gun, then he's also too intoxicated to drive and would also be receiving a DWI.

Brian

[JJVP]

If the officer thinks he's too intoxicated to carry a gun, then he's also too intoxicated to drive and would also be receiving a DWI.

Brian

From the OP

The husband is sitting in the passenger seat

Hard to drive from the PASSENGER seat.

[apostate]

If the officer thinks he's too intoxicated to carry a gun, then he's also too intoxicated to drive and would also be receiving a DWI.

The scenario given was him as a passenger with his (sober) wife driving.

[BrianSW99]

If the officer thinks he's too intoxicated to carry a gun, then he's also too intoxicated to drive and would also be receiving a DWI.

Brian

From the OP

The husband is sitting in the passenger seat

Hard to drive from the PASSENGER seat.

Oops, guess I should have read that a bit closer. Sorry...

[Lumberjack98]

In theory, I think there should be no issues in this scenario.

[SigM4]

Well I can say in my not so hypothetical situation that the officer didn't have a problem with it. The wife and I had been at her parent's house on a Saturday night, while there I had a couple of Shiners. When we went to leave late in the evening (she was driving) I reminded her about the XD in the center console.

Got onto I-20 heading east from Aledo and not 3 miles later got lit up by a DPS trooper while doing 66 in a 65. The officer approached the passenger side and asked for the usual id and insurance. She proceeded to give him both her DL and CHL. He asked if we'd been drinking, she said she hadn't and I indicated that I'd have 3 beers. When he saw her CHL he asked if there were any weapons in the car she told him about the gun in the console. He then asked me for my id so I handed him my DL and CHL as well. He took them both back to his car and presumably radio'd in our info, came back and asked my wife to step out and come to the back of the vehicle. When she did this he came back and asked about a plastic sack on the back seat, which had a softball and package of gym socks in it. As I was retrieving the sack and showing him the contents his dispatch contacted him, and he stepped away from the car. When he came back he seemed more relaxed and asked if we'd just moved back to TX and whether we were planning on joining a softball league. After that he sent my wife back to the car and returned with our ids. He indicated they were cracking down on DUIs in the area and thanked us for our cooperation.

Between the time of night (12:30 am) and the fact that we'd just moved back to TX and still had Wyoming plates on her car I think the officer trying to be a little more diligent in checking things out. My wife said he'd asked her again about having anything to drink when he had her step to the back of the car and asked her if there was any alcohol in the car. I can totally understand him wanting to seperate us while he asked questions, and quite honestly in that situation I would have understood had he wanted to take the gun back to his car during the stop. However, he didn't seem to have a problem with it.

All in all a very painless stop. I'm sure it helps that both my wife and I are very respectful of LEOs and when pulled over turned off the engine, rolled all the windows down and turned on the interior lights.

[sjfcontrol]

When she did this he came back and asked about a plastic sack on the back seat, which had a softball and package of gym socks in it. As I was retrieving the sack and showing him the contents his dispatch contacted him, and he stepped away from the car. When he came back he seemed more relaxed and asked if we'd just moved back to TX and whether we were planning on joining a softball league. After that he sent my wife back to the car and returned with our ids. He indicated they were cracking down on DUIs in the area and thanked us for our cooperation.

Umm, anybody else have a problem with this? He's concerned about a plastic sack in the back seat? Clothing? Aunt Martha's Double-Chocolate Chip Cookies? Household goods from Walmart? Could be anything. No reason to think it's anything illegal. Even an unopened 6-pack of beer would not be illegal. What was this all about?

Not real clear, but I gather the officer asked the poster, outside of earshot of the wife, about the contents of the bag.

[HankB]

Passenger is under no obligation to blow into a breathalyzer or take a field sobriety test. For PI, officer will have to articulate a reason why the passenger was a danger to himself or others.

[Hoi Polloi]

Passenger is under no obligation to blow into a breathalyzer or take a field sobriety test. For PI, officer will have to articulate a reason why the passenger was a danger to himself or others.

I was thinking along the same lines. I don't have the energy to look up the relevant laws on this. What I recall is that the passenger is considered detained ("under arrest") during a traffic stop in Texas (right?) and, separately, that an officer must have probable cause or permission to search. If the passenger answered that he had been drinking, would it possibly change the legalities or course of events over the passenger refusing to answer? Does the traffic stop give enough cause to investigate the passenger, too? I'd like to hear Ofc. Rothstein's take on this one.