Police stopped White’s car because a BMV inquiry on his license plate showed the car’s registration was “inactive,” although the plate was not yet expired. As a result of the stop, White was charged with multiple crimes. White moved to suppress all evidence resulting from the stop, arguing the stop was illegal because the “inactive” BMV return did not provide reasonable suspicion for the stop.

The Hendricks Superior Court denied White’s motion. On interlocutory appeal, a divided panel of the Court of Appeals reversed, finding a BMV “inactive” return could signify several things but did not establish an infraction when the plate was not itself “expired.” The dissent disagreed, finding the officer reasonably suspected that any return other than “active” indicated something could be amiss with the registration, justifying the stop. White v. State, 199 N.E.3d 1249 (Ind. Ct. App. 2022), vacated.

The Supreme Court has granted a petition to transfer the case and has assumed jurisdiction over the appeal.