A Norcross police officer stopped Sonia Rodriguez after an automatic license-plate system associated her car with Enrique Sanchez, who had an outstanding warrant. During the stop, officers questioned Rodriguez and her passenger about Sanchez, asked about weapons, checked their identities and warrants, and learned that the passenger was a fugitive; Rodriguez later consented to a vehicle search that found more than four ounces of marijuana. She moved to suppress the evidence, arguing that the detention had been unreasonably prolonged, and the trial court denied the motion. The Court of Appeals’ full bench divided six to six on whether to affirm or set aside the trial court’s ruling. The Supreme Court held that the equal division required transfer to that Court and vacated the Court of Appeals’ decision. It then reached the suppression issue, holding that the identity and warrant checks reasonably advanced the inquiry into Sanchez and officer safety and prolonged the detention by only a minute or two; it affirmed the trial court’s denial of suppression and remanded with instructions for the Court of Appeals to send the trial court a remittitur affirming its ruling. Justice Benham concurred in Division 1 and dissented from the majority’s Division 2, joined by Justice Hunstein; he argued that the officer had not verified before the stop that the car was linked to Sanchez or that the warrant remained valid, and that detention should have ended once officers learned Sanchez was not in the car.