Chapter 1: An Ordinary Stop

Rosemary sat nervously in the passenger seat of her SUV, across from her husband Dale, who was driving. Behind her were their twin sons, 6, Allen and Dale (Jr.), belted into their booster seats. She was nervous because they’d been pulled over by the California Highway Patrol, and she predicted what was about to happen next.

Dale rolled his window down just far enough to be irritating. “Yes, officer, what I can do for you?”

“License, registration, and insurance,” she answered, in the bored tone that came from a thousand previous traffic stops. Like usual, she was alert, but not expecting an argument. Her partner had come up beside the car and stood outside Rosemary’s door.

“I can’t help you, sorry,” responded Dale.

“What part? You don’t have a license? You don’t have insurance? Or the car isn’t registered? The tabs on your plate are current, so it must be one of the first two.”

Her answer sounded pleasant enough, but there was a new edge to her voice. She was Liz Tracy, her partner was Mike Easton, both experienced officers. Liz commented (to herself), “So glad I drew a partner on this shift.”

But it was Rosemary who answered, after rolling her own window down so the cop’s partner could also hear her. “It’s my car, I pay for the tags, the tabs, and the insurance. That’s my husband who is driving, and he doesn’t have a license. I’ll give your partner here beside me the information.”

Carefully, she opened the glove box to retrieve the documents. Her intent was to show him (a) compliance, and (b) the butt of Dale’s prized Glock semi-automatic pistol. To show that he understood her, he pulled off his sunglasses and left them on the roof of the car, pointed at his eyes, then reached for his shoulder-mic.

“Dispatch, Patrol 48.”

“48, go ahead.”

“Dispatch, we’re 10-32, that’s 10-3-2, and code 10-36, 10-3-6, we’re doing a stop on northbound SR99 at Avenue 17, MM 158. Subject vehicle is a,” he checked the registration, “2013 Dodge Durango, Blue, five-Victor-William-King-seven-three-two. Operator has no DL. His children are in the vehicle.”

In case his partner hadn’t heard him, he made a finger gun with his hand over the roof of the Durango where his partner could see it. When she saw this, she realized she needed to keep engaging with the suspect until they could get the wife and kids out of the vehicle.

“So, tell me again, you’re not driving, you’re traveling, and therefore exempt from our traffic laws?”

“That’s right.”

“Your problem is, the law doesn’t say ‘driving,’ did you know that?”

“No, I don’t understand.”

“Mr. Jordan, you were traveling, in a vehicle that you were operating. At 75 miles per hour in a section of highway clearly posted with a limit of 55. Whether you or I call that driving or not isn’t important.”

“The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees me the right to travel.” Dale pulled a collection of “legal” documents, which he had printed from various web sites, from the pocket in the door beside his hip.