Finding police orders unjustified, Supreme Court reverses conviction

(Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons)

Determining that police need more than a “hunch” to stop citizens, the Oregon Supreme Court has reversed a man’s conviction of interfering with a peace officer.

The decision, issued last week, could affect encounters between police and the public as well as how courts respond to such interactions. The Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court for further proceedings.

A majority of the seven-member court determined that orders by a…