State of Connecticut v. Gregory Cyrus

Summary

The court affirmed the Appellate Court's judgment upholding dismissal of the charges because the state failed to establish that the trooper had a reasonable and articulable suspicion that an object hanging from the defendant's rearview mirror obstructed his view or distracted him. Although an officer need not know that a statutory violation actually occurred before making an investigative stop, the state had to provide an evidentiary basis for a reasonable suspicion that the statute was being violated. The dissent would have reversed, concluding that the chain's length and ability to swing supported reasonable suspicion.