W.D.Mo.: Officer’s subjective belief of “reasonable mistake of law” irrelevant under Heien

The stop was based on a municipal ordinance that prohibited obstructions “upon” the windshield or windows. The government relied on reasonable mistake of law under Heien v. North Carolina, but the court disagrees. An air freshener was not “upon” and no reasonable construction of the ordinance admits of that. Moreover, defendant’s car had been under surveillance for a while, and the air freshener as an excuse for the stop isn’t even mentioned in the reports. “Although both officers in this case testified about their own beliefs as well as events that strengthened those subjective beliefs, those events occurred after the stop in this case and are therefore irrelevant, as are the officers’ subjective belief that air fresheners hung from a rear view mirror violates the ordinance.” United States v. Black, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52835 (W.D. Mo. February 13, 2015).