Indiana Supreme Court Tosses Turn Signal Traffic Stop

A 4-1 ruling finds an officer relied on an outdated reading of the state's turn signal statute when stopping a motorist.

Updated on Nov. 14, 2026 in Criminal Justice

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a single plain road curving through farmland beside a bare turn-signal arm silhouette, in deep red, cream, and slate. — Indiana's Supreme Court ruled 4-1 that an officer lacked a valid basis to stop a motorist for a turn-signal violation under an outdated reading of state law. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you trust police to correctly apply traffic laws during stops?

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled 4-1 that a police officer lacked a valid basis to stop a motorist for an alleged turn signal violation. The court granted the motorist's request to suppress marijuana, cocaine, and handgun evidence found in the vehicle.

Why it matters

The decision clarifies that officers must apply current turn signal rules, which no longer require signaling in the circumstances at issue here. It limits the use of traffic stops that rest on an outdated reading of the law, and it affects how evidence found after such stops can be used in court across Indiana.

The Indiana Supreme Court granted the motorist's request to suppress marijuana, cocaine, and handgun evidence after ruling 4-1 that the stop was unlawful. The Indiana Court of Appeals had affirmed the stop in 2025, and the Supreme Court's ruling reverses that outcome.

The players

Indiana Supreme Court

The state's highest court, which decides final appeals and interprets Indiana law, including questions of constitutional search and seizure.

Aaron Freeman

A Republican state senator representing Indianapolis who inspired the 2022 law change that removed the 200-foot turn signal requirement.

The details

The motorist turned from a gas station parking lot onto a city street without signaling, and the officer relied on an earlier version of Indiana's turn signal statute to justify the stop. Justice Geoffrey Slaughter dissented without issuing a separate opinion.

House Enrolled Act 1167, which contained the turn signal change, was enacted in 2022.
The turn signal law change took effect January 1, 2023.
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the traffic stop in 2025.
The Indiana Supreme Court issued its ruling last week.

Legal Context

The ruling applies the Fourth Amendment standard for traffic stops, which requires an objectively reasonable basis for suspicion of a violation. Indiana's 2022 change to the turn signal statute, enacted through House Enrolled Act 1167, now governs how officers evaluate turns from private lots.

Drivers in Indiana making turns from private lots or parking areas are no longer required to signal under the current statute, so a stop for failing to signal in those situations is not supported. The ruling also means evidence found after such stops may be excluded from court.

The takeaway

Drivers should know the current turn signal rules, since outdated interpretations of the statute no longer justify a traffic stop in Indiana. Officers are expected to apply the law as amended in 2023.