Originally Posted by
Milton Keynes
The cop erroneously stopped him due to his misunderstanding of the law. If the guy had a warrant he'd have gone to jail regardless. They wouldn't kick him loose just because the cop misunderstood the law. Had the guy been arrested for some other offense at the scene, then a good lawyer could get that charge dismissed due to the incorrect reason for the stop.
Prorogue much?
In fact, had he had a warrant, he would have been arrested, but then may have been released due to the error.
However, had the search subsequent to arrest turned up something as minor as a “recreational” quantity of drugs, then he could be arrested and not released, tried, and then even convicted. See Utah v. Strieff, and Sotomayor’s brilliant dissent on how that makes absolutely no sense.
“Do not be soothed by the opinion’s technical language: This case allows the police to stop you on the street, demand your identification, and check it for outstanding traffic warrants—even if you are doing nothing wrong.”
-mr. bill