Stops and Frisks

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Background

Generally police have the right to make limited contact with citizens that is short of arrest. The standard for this contact varies from jurisidiction to jurisdiction.


United States

In Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) the United States Supreme Court stated that the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures did not restrict a police officer's right to make a limited investigatory stop even though the officer did not have probable cause necessary to effect and arrest. The Court held that when a citizen was stopped by a police officer a "stop" had occured for purposes of the Fourth Amendment. However, because the intrusion was less than a full blown arrest, a lower standard of "reasonable suspicision" was required before an officer could make such a stop.

Reasonable suspicion was defined as "specific and articulable facts which taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant" the logical conclusion that "criminal activity is afoot". [1]

More Restrictive State Constitutions

Some states provide for additional protections against unwarrante police intrusion. For instance, in New York, the Supreme Court has concluded that the State Constitution provides heightened scrutiny for stops and frisks. In People v. Debour, 40 NY2d 210 (New York 1976) the New York Supreme Court implemented a more rigorous four-tiered system for stops and frisks.

  • Level 1 - Request for Information
  • Level 2 - Common-Law Right to Inquire
  • Level 3 - Forcible Stop and Frisk
  • Level 4 - Arrest A police officer in New York may arrest an individual if they have a probably casue to believe the individual has committed a crime.[2]

See Rights of the Accused

Notes