Continuity mistake: At the end when Stuart decided to let Earl go he pulls the list out of his pocket, and gives it back to Earl, and it is all crumpled up, but a second later when we see Earl holding the note it is neatly folded.
My Name Is Earl (2005)
1 mistake in Stole a Badge - chronological order
Starring: Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Jaime Pressly, Nadine Velazquez
Police officer: It's police policy not to waste resources looking for a missing person in the first 24 hours because they usually show up on their own, and after 24 hours, if they're still missing, it usually means they're dead and we don't look for them that hard then either.
Trivia: At the end, Earl's father says that he talked to John Sheppard earlier that day. Earl's father is played by Beau Bridges who portrays General Hank Landry on Stargate SG-1. John Sheppard is the main character of Stargate: Atlantis, SG-1's sister show.
More questions & answers from My Name Is Earl
Answer: The premise of the show is he atones for mistakes he did in the past. Winning a car for Joy probably atones for something he did wrong regarding her in the past.
Rob245