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July 06, 2003
DWB
Once upon a time, I imagined that if I sponsored it, conversation would bloom all over my website. One such failed experiment was the DWB section of my website. I'm taking it off the static pages and dropping the links to the ACLU section on racial profiling and a reference page into the blog via this entry. Here's an excerpt:
The "stop and frisk" exception in Terry v. Ohio(13) permits the seizure of a citizen without a warrant and can be justified on grounds less than probable cause.(14) Although the Court provided the police with great discretion to conduct temporary seizures and detentions, it also placed limitations upon the use of this lesser standard in justifying searches and seizures. Specifically the Court permitted these intrusions upon a citizen's liberty interests only when the police officer possessed a reasonable belief that the suspect posed a potential threat to the safety of the officer or the general public.(15) In addition to limiting the use of stop and frisk to situations where a potential physical threat was present, the court also limited the extent of the intrusion. The stop and frisk was limited to a pat down of the outer clothing where a suspect might reasonably hide a weapon.(16) It neither allowed the officer to conduct a more extensive search or prolong the detention if the frisk revealed nothing.(17)Despite the restrictions delineated in Terry, later courts applied this expanded exception into other areas.(18) In Michigan v. Long the Court extended the "stop and frisk" exception to automobiles and containers within automobiles that might reasonably hide a weapon.(19) The parameters of Terry were also used to extend the lawful entry of a home in Maryland v. Buie. In Buie, the Court allowed, without a warrant, a "protective sweep" of a home for officer safety.(20) Although Terry was limited to instances where the police suspected the person may be in possession of a weapon and they posed a potential threat to the officer or the public, later decisions permitted the use of non-weapon evidence discovered in the course of a search though it posed no threat . By 1993, the Court expanded Terry to allow the confiscation of non-threatening contraband.(21)
Posted by mbowen at July 6, 2003 08:52 PM
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