William J Dipetrillo & Associates P.A.

08/30/2025

Please note that the tagged, active Facebook account will now serve as our official page for all future postings. Please click the link to see the account: https://www.facebook.com/dipetrillo.law

11/14/2021

HOW LONG CAN A POLICE OFFICER HOLD YOU DURING A TRAFFIC STOP?
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

I get this question all the time. If I am stopped for a traffic violation and the officer is
finished writing the citation then asked me if he can search my car or the officer asks me can a bring the K-9 dog for a search of your car what are my rights?

The United States Supreme Court answered this question in 2015 in Rodriguez v. U.S. The Court ruled you can only be detained for as long as it takes for the original purpose, the ticket. The detention of a person "becomes unlawful if it is prolonged beyond the time reasonably required to complete the mission" of issuing a ticket for the violation.

This generally means you can only be detained for as long as it takes to write the citation. The officer cannot detain beyond that time. You cannot be held while the officer calls for a K-9 dog. If you are held longer it then becomes a violation of your rights including violating the 4th amendment to the constitution.

That being said, there are other reasons you could be detained such as if there is probable cause.

In addition, this detention happens all the time and it is difficult to just drive away.

Best bet, be polite and maintain your rights.

Trying to help and inform,

William J. DiPetrillo

08/28/2018

Be careful with hanging any object from your rear view mirror. It is not illegal in Florida to do so but it is in many states. Florida Statute 316.294 makes it mandatory for all vehicles to have a rear view windshield. Further Florida Statute 316,2004 makes it a traffic violation to obscure your vie...

06/27/2018

The penalties below are CITED FROM DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES WEBSITE Florida Statutes are cited to and available online or from this law firm Please be aware that the Department of motor vehicles states that driving is a privilege and not a right. Therefore, the DMV can suspend your driving privi...

06/27/2018

Test Post from William J Dipetrillo and Associates

Who is William John DiPetrillo? William John DiPetrillo has resided in South Florida since 1969. He attended the University of Florida where he played on the rugby team and graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree. Mr. Dipetrillo went on to study law at the Shep...

05/24/2018

https://dipetrillo.com/about/

Who is William John DiPetrillo? William John DiPetrillo has resided in South Florida since 1969. He attended the University of Florida where he played on the rugby team and graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree. Mr. Dipetrillo went on to study law at the Shep...