Gian Gualco-Nelson
Warren Court and the 4th Amendment
“[T]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Justices on the Supreme Court of the United States are employed to analyze and answer controversial questions that relate to the United States’ Supreme Law of the Land, the Constitution. The greatest obstacle for these Justices is time; each Justice interprets a document created by a collection of minds from a completely different society. Conservatism…show more content… So, in my opinion there are 49 Negroes whose rights have been misused, that goes on every day.” As this retired white police officer from Detroit points out in the passage above, minorities across the country suffered immensely from the Terry decision. David Rudovsky identifies examples of racial profiling that forced unbearable situations on minorities. From detaining and searching individuals solely because of their race, to forcing laxatives down a pregnant black woman’s throat, the Terry decision contradicts the Warren Court’s perceived liberalism. The Warren Court believed that any violations of their Terry stop criteria could be remedied in a judicial proceeding. The court’s logic is unrealistic. The Terry decision placed a large amount of trust in law enforcement, in a time when law enforcement was extremely aggressive and antagonistic. In order to justify Terry stops, police can create factual assertions that meet the Terry criteria. Without witnesses, defendants that refute the police’s creative assertions force the court to weigh their word versus an officer sworn to uphold the law. While the Terry decision afforded police with more protection, it also increased resentment in black communities against police. “Negroes firmly believe that police brutality and harassment occur repeatedly in Negro neighborhoods. This belief is unquestionably one of the major reasons for intense Negro resentment against the police…” Racial profiling became a popular topic during Bill Clinton’s Presidency. President Clinton ordered “and requested record-keeping and studies to determine the extent of racial profiling in law enforcement.” Only five states abided by President Clinton’s order, and law enforcement lobbied against any federal legislation that imposed data collection. For law enforcement officials, as long as there is
