The issue focused on the court's legal opinion in the case of United States v. Salerno, in which the court held that the rights of any government official to order a law enforcement officer to stop a person on the street and ask for identification was not an illegal search.

The court's legal opinion in the case of United States v. Salerno, in which the court held that the rights of any government official to order a law enforcement officer to stop a person on the street and ask for identification was