A traffic stop is a warrantless Fourth Amendment seizure of all the occupants of the car. Like other temporary detentions of individuals, "the tolerable duration of police inquiries in the traffic-stop context is determined by the seizure's 'mission.'" Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. 348, 354 (2015). Police tasks that lack a "close connection to roadway safety" detour from the seizure's mission, as "do safety precautions taken to facilitate such detours." Id. at 356. When measurably lengthening the detention, such off-mission tasks violate the Fourth Amendment, unless independently supported by reasonable suspicion. Id. at 356-58.

The question presented is whether the Ninth Circuit erred when it created a bright-line rule permitting police to lengthen a seizure by inquiring whether a driver is on parole or probation at the outset of a traffic stop for driving offenses.

Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in creating a bright-line rule permitting police to lengthen a traffic stop by inquiring about a driver's parole or probation status at the outset of a stop