Arizona court: Private land not a shield from traffic stops

PHOENIX (AP) - The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled authorities conducting traffic stops can follow suspects onto private property.

The panel on Friday vacated an appeals court’s opinion involving the 2014 search of a Willcox man’s car on a private driveway, which led to convictions on drug charges.

Cochise County Sheriff’s deputies observed Anthony Hernandez driving erratically and pursued him to his girlfriend’s home.

Deputies searched the vehicle upon smelling marijuana.

In court documents, Hernandez argued the deputies’ warrantless entry onto the property violated his Fourth Amendment rights.

The justices say drivers leading officers to a specific location constitutes implied consent to their presence.

Justice Clint Bolick writes traffic stops are “not a game of tag, where touching home-base shields the pursued.”