Lomas v. State. No. 5-03-0348 (Ill.App. Dist.5, Decided 06/11/2004)

The Lomas case from the Illinois Court of Appeals offers a rare judicial opinion that appropriately ridicules a police officer's illegal stop of a motor vehicle based upon a pure "hunch".  Reversing the felony drug possession conviction and jail sentence, the appellate court seems to want to remind police everywhere that guesswork won't comport with the Fourth Amendment of our U. S. Constitution.

Although many countries allow their law enforcement officers unlimited right to pull over any vehicle for no particular reason at all, the United States Constitution requires SOME identifiable crime, equipment violation, defective tag, etc., as the REASON for the pullover.  See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S. Ct. 1868 (1968) and Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 116 S. Ct. 1769 (1996).  Some state constitutions provide even GREATER protections to their citizens, as is permitted to be done by our federal constitution.  Think of FEDERAL constitutional law as a "floor" for your rights---no state can drop below this standard.  A state government CAN, however, provide a higher "ceiling" for its citizens.

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