WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The Kansas Supreme Court has overturned a drug conviction stemming from a 2021 traffic stop in Geary County.
A sheriff’s deputy pulled over Brian Beck because part of the word “Illinois” on his license plate was obscured.
That stop led to the discovery of over two pounds of methamphetamine and Beck’s conviction.
But the high court ruled the stop was unlawful, saying Kansas law doesn’t require that the state name on a license plate be clearly visible.
“What the court basically said is if that’s the only reason you’re pulling somebody over, that’s not good enough,” said Charley O’Hara, an attorney based in Wichita.
The American Civil Liberties Union noted similarities between Beck’s case and the Kansas Highway Patrol’s “two-step” traffic policy, which was found to be unconstitutional.
Kunyu Ching, an attorney with the ACLU, said the two cases are not the same because Beck’s case deals with a Geary County deputy. While the two-step process dealt with KHP.
“We’ve known for a long time that the KHP is not the only law enforcement agency in Kansas that conducts pretextual traffic stops on interstate highways in the name of ‘drug interdiction,” Ching said in a statement to 12 News.
“This decision from the Kansas Supreme Court forecloses one pretextual avenue that law enforcement has weaponized against out-of-state drivers,” Ching said.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says it will follow the ruling’s precedent and not pull people over when the state name is obscured. However, KHP argued that it could make it difficult to enforce other Kansas laws.
The Kansas Highway Patrol acknowledges the Kansas Supreme Court ruling in State v. Beck, which effectively terminates a law enforcement officer’s ability to stop vehicles when the state name is obscured on a Kansas license plate. There is concern that such a ruling complicates enforcement of other Kansas laws requiring the display of the state name on license plates issued in Kansas and requiring those plates be visible. We encourage policymakers to consider remedies clarifying the display of license plates.
Kansas Highway Patrol
The case now returns to the district court, where charges against Beck could be dropped.
The decision could offer relief to other Kansas drivers who were stopped for obscuring the state name on their license plates.