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PRESENT: Powell, C.J., Kelsey, McCullough, Chafin, Russell, and Mann, JJ., and Millette, S.J.
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
OPINION BY
v. Record No. 250267 JUSTICE STEPHEN R. McCULLOUGH
April 16, 2026
NAFEESA RAUSHAM KNIGHT-WALKER
FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
A police officer stopped Nafeesa Rausham Knight-Walker on suspicion of driving on a
suspended license. While the stop was ongoing, the officer inquired about the presence of drugs
or weapons in the car. The questions took approximately twelve seconds. A divided panel of the
Court of Appeals held that these questions impermissibly extended the traffic stop in violation of
Knight-Walker’s Fourth Amendment rights and that, as a consequence, evidence seized
following those questions must be suppressed. We hold that, under the circumstances of this
case, the officer did not impermissibly prolong the stop in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
BACKGROUND
Around 1:30 in the morning, Officer Jordan Allen of the Newport News Police
Department noticed that the vehicle in front of his was making frequent lane changes to prevent
him from following. The vehicle was also traveling fifteen miles per hour below the posted
speed limit. Officer Allen ran a license and registration check on the vehicle. He learned that
the owner of the vehicle had a suspended license. He also pulled up a photograph of the owner
of the vehicle. The photograph appeared to match the driver. Based on these observations, Jump to an indexed page (10 of 10)