ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico court's decision in a criminal case stemming from a drug seizure and arrest says a driver's brief touching of her lane's left yellow line while she passed other vehicles on the right wasn't enough to justify a 2013 traffic stop.
A state Court of Appeals decision Tuesday says Karen Siqueiros-Valenzuela's momentary failure to stay entirely in her lane didn't provide reasonable suspicion for an officer to pull her over on Interstate 40 near Grants.
The appellate court upheld a trial judge's ruling to bar use of methamphetamine found in the vehicle as evidence against Siqueiros-Valenzuela.
The decision said the search and seizure violated Siqueiros-Valenzuela's Fourth Amendment privacy protections because New Mexico law only requires a driver to stay in a traffic lane "as nearly as practicable."