Seeking consent after a traffic stop

The United States Supreme Court ruled relatively recently that normally the only important "scope" issue during a traffic stop is time. Officers can ask just about any question of anyone in the car, can ask for consent and can call out a dog -- as long as they do everything within the same time it takes for a traffic stop.

So the next question is -- how long is a traffic stop?

Recently a court held that 14 minutes was too long a time during a traffic stop to call a dog out. The dog hit on the car 14 minutes after the stop and the evidence was suppressed. People v Baldwin

In another case an Illnois court ruled that 18 minutes was not too long to issue two tickets.

There is another way to get around Baldwin.

The Illinois Supreme Court case of People v Cosby stands for the proposition that once an officer returns a driver's paperwork and license, the stop / seizure is over. Therefore, if a driver will remain after that, there is no real time limit as there is no seizure. so then an officer can ask for consent to search -- or bring a dog out.

Best -

DA