I agree that the Sotomayor dissent has very valid arguments, but could be boiled down to two things that happened in this traffic stop. Either, by themselves, are technicalities, but combined, they are exceptional and should not be tolerated.
1) The law was unclear whether a driver had to have two working taillights. A reasonable interpretation of the antiquated law was that they only needed one to legally operate. (As a side note, in Germany, if a vehicle has a light, even an interior light, it *must* be functional or it is unlawful. This is not the case in the US.)
2) Once the car had been pulled over, the officer made a *subjective* determination that their behavior was suspicious based on the actions of the two passengers and their answers to his questions. By itself, this happens a lot, but is absolutely reliant on the officer having a legitimate reason to involve himself and solicit questions.
Now, one or the other of these things would be tolerable, either an incorrect interpretation of the law, *or* a subjective determination for search. But both together are unacceptable. If the law was clear, the officer could involve himself. But he cannot act on supposition based on a shaky foundation of the law.
(It should also be noted that the defendants seriously erred by giving permission for a search of their vehicle. Doing this erased some of the officers errors. Had they refused, and been searched involuntarily, they would have had a much stronger case.)
(It should also be noted that the defendants seriously erred by giving permission for a search of their vehicle. Doing this erased some of the officers errors. Had they refused, and been searched involuntarily, they would have had a much stronger case.)
I suspect one of the reasons this case was accepted by the court was because of how incredibly weak it was due to the defendant's stupidity.