People v. Gaytan

(Correcting court designation.) An objectively reasonable, though mistaken, belief as to the meaning of a law may form basis for costitutionally valid vehicle stop under Illinois constitution. It was objectively reasonable for officers to believe that trailer hitch, on vehicle in which Defendant was a passenger, violated Section 3-413(b) of Vehicle Code. Thus, traffic stop was constitutionally valid under state and federal constitutions. Section 3-413(b) is ambiguous and, applying rule of lenity, it prohibits only materials which are attached to a license plate, and thus a trailer hitch does not violate that section. (GARMAN, FREEMAN, THOMAS, KILBRIDE, KARMEIER, and THEIS, concurring.)