In State v. Jones, ___ Kan. App. 2d ___ (No. 82,243, filed 5/5/2000), the Kansas Court of Appeals held for the first time that officers conducting a traffic stop can ask passengers in the vehicle for identification and run them for warrants.

A Salina Police Officer stopped a vehicle driven by Shawn Miller for speeding. During the stop, the Officer asked front-seat passenger Shawn M. Jones for identification. Jones did not have any, but gave the officer his full name and a fictional date of birth. The Officer was advised of a possible warrant and the description on the warrant fit Jones. Jones subsequently told the officer his correct date of birth and the officer arrested him based on the warrant. A search incident to arrest yielded drugs and drug paraphernalia, which Jones moved to suppress. Jones claimed that the Officer exceeded the reasonable scope and duration of a traffic stop by asking him, the passenger, for identification. Jones argued that State v. Damm, 246 Kan. 220, 787 P.2d 1185 (1990) prohibited asking him for identification.

The Kansas Court of Appeals disagreed. It noted that in Damm the driver was stopped for a defective taillight, and two passengers were checked for warrants "pursuant to department policy." One of the passengers had a warrant and was arrested. Then, officers searched Damm's vehicle incident to the passenger's arrest. The Kansas Supreme Court held it was unreasonable to detain Damm for the time it took to run both the passengers.

In Jones, the court distinguished Damm noting the Jones case dealt with a challenge by the passenger, not the driver. More importantly, the officer testified that he asked for the passenger's name to secure the names of witnesses to the initial violation that resulted in the stop. The court noted that the officer ran the records check while he was writing the driver's citation, and the total time from the stop to arrival at the police station did not exceed five minutes. The court also relied upon the United States Supreme Court's decision in Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408, 117 S.Ct. 882, 137 L.Ed.2d 41 (1997), where the Court held that officers can order all passengers out of a vehicle in the interest of officer safety.

Announcing its holding, the court stated:

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