License-plate profiling case can proceed to trial

BOISE – A motorist with Colorado license plates who contends the Idaho State Police profiled him because of his plates and fruitlessly detained and searched his car for marijuana can proceed with his federal lawsuit. Lawyers for Darien Roseen amended the lawsuit complaint after the state of Idaho contended the ISP was protected by the state’s sovereign immunity and couldn’t be sued. All sides have now agreed to proceed under the amended complaint, which drops the ISP as a target but includes ISP Trooper Justin Klitch, along with Payette County, the city of Fruitland, and several of their officers who participated in the traffic stop. Roseen, 69, was pulled over just as he crossed into Idaho on I-84 in January and was pressed by Klitch to allow a search of his vehicle for drugs, which he refused. He then was detained and his vehicle searched for hours before he was allowed to go; nothing illegal was found. His lawsuit charges numerous violations of his constitutional rights, along with discriminatory and selective treatment by profiling. He had Colorado plates and a Washington driver’s license; both states have legalized marijuana, while Idaho has not. A trial in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Boise likely will be set for early 2015, according to court documents.