Maryland v. Wilson

Summary

Chief Justice Rehnquist's opinion for the Court held that officers conducting lawful traffic stops may order passengers out of the vehicle without individualized suspicion. Extending Pennsylvania v. Mimms, the Court concluded that officer-safety interests outweigh the minimal additional intrusion on passengers already stopped with the vehicle. It reversed and remanded, expressly leaving unresolved whether passengers may be forcibly detained throughout the stop. Justice Stevens, joined by Justice Kennedy, dissented, arguing that ordering innocent passengers out requires an articulable basis for concern about officer safety and that the evidence did not justify a categorical rule. Justice Kennedy also dissented separately, emphasizing that objective circumstances should justify the command and that discretionary restraint cannot substitute for constitutional protection.