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Tension between Pretextual Stops and Profiling Stops

By Walin & Klarich

Trained Perspectives From a Criminal Defense Attorney The pertextual rule of UNITED STATES v. WHREN (Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 1996) allows an officer to stop a vehicle any time the officer has reasonable suspicion of a violation, even if the officer has hopes or intentions of finding evidence of a more serious crime. The WHREN decision did not create an unlimited pretextual rule. An officer may never base a traffic stop or any other detention solely on the race or ethnicity of a person (United States v. Brigononi-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 1975). A stop primarily based on the subject?s race, national origin, or ethnicity would violate the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause (WHREN). Understanding the complexities surrounding the validity of a police stop requires great knowledge and experience...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on August 06, 2009 (boomark / email).