Heien v. North Carolina
| Heien v. North Carolina | |
|---|---|
| Argued October 6, 2014 Decided December 15, 2014 | |
| Full case name | Nicholas Brady Heien v. North Carolina |
| Docket no. | 13-604 |
| Citations | 574 U.S. 54 (more) 135 S. Ct. 530; 190 L. Ed. 2d 475 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Opinion announcement | Opinion announcement |
| Case history | |
| Prior | On writ on certiorari to the North Carolina Supreme Court; State of North Carolina v. Nicholas Brady Heien, 749 S.E.2d 278 |
| Holding | |
| A police officer who stops a car based on a reasonable though mistaken understanding of the law does not violate the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Roberts, joined by Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, Kagan |
| Concurrence | Kagan, joined by Ginsburg |
| Dissent | Sotomayor |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. IV | |
Heien v. North Carolina, 574 U.S. 54 (2014), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court, ruling that a police officer's reasonable mistake of law can provide the individualized suspicion required by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution to justify a traffic stop. The Court delivered its ruling on December 15, 2014.