Legally Tinted Windows Are Reason Enough for a Traffic Stop, Says Indiana Court

Huh?

Police can stop and search drivers who have fully legal window tint under a decision reached by the Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday. The justices were reviewing the case of Erving L. Sanders Jr who had been driving his 1991 Chevy Suburban, which had tinted back windows, through Indianapolis on January 28, 2011.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer Keith Minch says he believed the Suburban's tint exceeded the state standard of now less than 30 percent light transmission. Photographs of of the vehicle taken by police show the car's steering wheel and windshield wiper could be seen through the rear window. Officer Minch confirmed at trial that this matched what he saw but that it was "kind of gloomy" that day and he was unable to verify Sanders' age, sex and ethnicity through the back window. Sanders is black. Officer Minch did not try to identify the driver through the front or driver's and passenger side windows, which were untinted.

An expert's measurement determined the tint was well within the standard, allowing 38 percent of light to pass through. That was not enough to allow Sanders to walk.

"Such proof of compliance with the window tint statute undoubtedly relieves the defendant of any liability for a window tint violation," Chief Justice Brent E. Dickson wrote for the court. "However, it does not serve to vitiate the legality of the traffic stop."