Reply With Quote
random pulloutOriginally Posted by archives
swerving in a high drug zone area, and they get pulled over! DATS RACISTpolice officers patrolling a "high drug area" in the District of Columbia stopped petitioners’ vehicle after observing the vehicle turn suddenly without signaling. During the traffic stop, the officers discovered crack cocaine in the vehicle, and the petitioners were arrested and convicted for narcotics possession. The petitioners challenged their convictions on the grounds that the stop and subsequent drug seizure was unconstitutional. Specifically, petitioners alleged that the traffic stop was not based on the reasonable suspicion or probable cause that they were dealing drugs and that the officers’ proffered reason for detaining them—to give them warning for traffic violations—was pretextual. On appeal, the Supreme Court of the United States held that temporary detentions of motorists are consistent with the Fourth Amendment provided that the detaining officer acts upon probable cause that the motorist has violated the traffic code. Moreover, the Court held that such detentions are constitutional even if the traffic stop is pretextual, and the officer has stopped the motorist on the suspicion that she has committed a different offense. The Court did note, however, that selective enforcement of the traffic code based on race is inconsistent with the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Bookmarks