People v. Gaytan

Officer stopped Defendant for obstructed license plate, and officer stated that vehicle had a trailer hitch on back with a ball on the back that obscured the bottom of the plate, and trailer hitch covered up bottom of plate. Statutory language and history indicates that legislature sought to prohibit obstructing materials attached to the plate itself, such as covers, and not objects partially obstructing the plate's visibility that are not connected to the registration plate, such as the trailer ball hitch as it is not affixed or connected to the plate itself. Thus, police did not have articulable suspicion that crime had been committed; thus, no probable cause to make traffic stop. (POPE and HOLDER WHITE, concurring.)