“Do you have evidence the vehicle was stolen?”
Derek said nothing.
“Do you have evidence my identification is false?”
Nothing.
“Do you have evidence I resisted?”
“You questioned lawful commands.”
“That is not resistance.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
Sam looked at him.
“No.”
Then he paused.
“But courts do.”
Derek laughed.
“You a lawyer?”
Sam said nothing.
Derek continued.
“Because I’ve met lawyers. They all think a law degree makes them police experts.”
Sam leaned forward slightly.
“Richardson v. Ohio.”
Derek stopped.
“What?”
“2019.”
Sam continued.
“Detention must remain tied to articulable facts supporting the reason for the stop.”
Derek stared.
“Barnes v. Columbus.”
Silence.
“2021. Refusal to surrender constitutional rights is not itself evidence of obstruction.”
Derek’s expression shifted.
“Thornton v. State.”
He knew none of them.
Sam did.
Derek tried to recover.
“You reading case summaries now?”
Sam shook his head.
“I wrote them.”
The words seemed to change the oxygen in the room.
Derek blinked.