esquire.com – WASHINGTON—Madame Justice Sonia Sotomayor seems to have felt her last nerve jumped upon. Earlier today, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Utah v. Streiff. The case involved a man named Edward Streiff, who was stopped without cause by a police officer in Salt Lake City. The officer discovered that Streiff had an outstanding warrant and, upon searching Streiff, discovered methamphetamine. The Utah Supreme Court—that would be the supreme court that works in Utah!—reversed Streiff’s conviction because the original police stop had been illegal. By a 5-3 margin, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed the decision of the Utah Supreme Court, the majority arguing that the discovery of the meth made the original stop less illegal. Justice Clarence Thomas opined in a majority opinion that the “deterrent value” of the arrest mitigated the illegality of the stop. (If this sounds like ends justifying means, that’s only because it is.)
Categories: Election 2016