First off, the thing that stands out the most about this decision is the way that it's written. Court decisions are usually very dry, this one is less so. Enjoy.
Facts: A cop in New Mexico stopped Rochin for driving with an expired license plate. During the stop, the officer was informed by dispatch that this car was suspected in a drive by shooting. Rochin was unable to provide his license, insurance, or registration. The officer asked (instead of ordered at gunpoint) Rochin to get out of the car, and then he searched him for weapons. See Terry v. Ohio. Whilst searching Rochin for weapons, the officer felt some unidentifiable hard cylindrical items in his pocket. The officer asked Rochin "¿quién es?" by which he probably meant "¿qué es?"
Rochin answers "No sabe," and the officer removed the hard cylindrical objects from Rochin's pockets to ensure that they were not weapons. As it turns out, they were drug paraphernalia (pipes). Rochin was arrested, his car was searched, and he was convicted of some shit. Rochin moved to suppress the drug paraphernalia (and therefore the arrest, and everything that followed), suggesting that the officer exceeded the scope of a Terry search when he removed the items from his pockets. The court held that the officer could have reasonably feared that the objects were weapons, and therefore it was reasonable for him to investigate further when he was unable to identify them after first discovering them.
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