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Search and Seizure

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//December 16, 2014//

Search and Seizure

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//December 16, 2014//

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U.S. Supreme Court

Criminal

Search and Seizure

A seizure based on a reasonable mistake of law does not violate the Fourth Amendment.

Heien contends that the rationale that permits reasonable errors of fact does not extend to reasonable errors of law, arguing that officers in the field deserve a margin of error when making factual assessments on the fly. An officer may, however, also be suddenly confronted with a situation requiring application of an unclear statute. This Court’s holding does not discourage officers from learning the law. Because the Fourth Amendment tolerates only objectively reasonable mistakes, cf. Whren v. United States, 517 U. S. 806, 813, an officer can gain no advantage through poor study. Finally, while the maxim “Ignorance of the law is no excuse” correctly implies that the State cannot impose punishment based on a mistake of law, it does notmean a reasonable mistake of law cannot justify an investigatory stop.

367 N. C. 163, 749 S. E. 2d 278, affirmed.

13-604 Heien v. North Carolina

Roberts, C.J.; Kagan, J., concurring; Sotomayor, J., dissenting.

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