If the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Illinois v. Wardlow had been issued sooner, it might have meant a win for the district attorney’s office in a recent case at the state Supreme Court.

The split U.S. Supreme Court decided that flight from police is enough to warrant reasonable suspicion. The 5-4 decision in Wardlow, written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, gives police leeway to conduct a so-called Terry stop when a citizen flees at the sight of an officer.