U.S. v. Stanbridge

In prosecution on drug distribution charges, Dist. Ct. erred in denying defendant’s motion to suppress drugs seized from defendant’s vehicle, after police stopped said vehicle on ground that defendant had committed Illinois traffic offense by failing to signal continuously for 100 feet prior to pulling alongside curb to park. While said statute requires 100-foot signals when making left or right turns, said statute does not make similar requirement for pulling vehicle alongside curb to park. Moreover, instant mistake of law by police was not objectively reasonable so as to support instant search, where statute was clear with respect to any signal requirement. As such, motion to suppress should have been granted.