Charity v. State

MOYLAN, Judge.

If there is a lesson to be learned from this case, it is that when the police are permitted a very broad but persistently controversial investigative prerogative, 1 they would be well advised, even when not literally required to do so, to exercise that prerogative with restraint and moderation, lest they lose it. In Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996), the Supreme Court extended law enforcement officers a sweeping prerogative, permitting them to exploit the investigative opportunities presented to them by observing traffic infractions even…