Also, Whren and Brown were pulled over in a school zone, which resulted in harsher federal drug violation sentences.

Any traffic offense committed by a driver is a legitimate legal basis for a traffic stop. [1], The court also rejected the petitioners claim that the government's interest in traffic safety led to anxiety, confusion, and haste for Whren and Brown. A "pretext" or "pretextual" stop is a stop in which the officer detains the citizen for a minor crime (i.e. constitutionality of pretextual traffic stops in United States v. the Open University Both petitioners believe that the traffic stop did not warrant a search of their vehicle and their arrest. A "pretext" or "pretextual" stop is a stop in which the officer detains the citizen for a minor crime (i.e. Request. Whren v. United States had controversial implications. Plainclothes officers in an unmarked car spotted a suspicious SUV with young Black occupants and temporary tags. PDF (2 MB), University of Maine, School of Law: Digital Commons, https://digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1577&context=mlr, Update/Correction/Removal This is unconstitutional, but impossible to prove. "In this case we decide whether the temporary detention of a motorist who the police have probable cause to believe has committed a civil traffic violation is inconsistent with the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable seizures unless a reasonable officer would have been motivated to stop the car by a desire to enforce the traffic laws. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the previous ruling.[7]. As the officers approached the vehicle, the vehicle turned at an "unreasonable" speed without using their turning signal. Whren, however, was the first case in which the Supreme Court directly addressed the issue. The standard for reasonable suspicion is purely an objective one. The court came to a unanimous decision, written by Justice Scalia:
As such, officers frequently choose which cars to pull over based on suspicions that something more serious might be going on. The Court\u27s unanimous opinion, delivered by Justice Scalia, brought an end to a long-running debate over the proper Fourth Amendment treatment of pretextual police conduct, and pretextual traffic stops in particular. This Note concludes that the holding of Whren is correct both because it is dictated by precedent and because there are insurmountable logical and practical barriers to a holding that pretextual stops violate the Fourth Amendment.

The personal, or subjective, motives of an officer are not a factor in the Court's Fourth Amendment analysis of whether the cause for a stop is sufficient. Because only the Fourth Amendment issue was presented, however, the Court did not examine the other factors that make pretextual stops a real problem, and therefore failed to suggest any solutions. Special thanks to all the dedicated people who make our work possible.

This Note will analyze the Whren decision as the last word in the pretextual stop debate.

The ruling in Whren v. U.S. demonstrates how easy it is for officers to do this. They were members of the District of Columbia's Vice Squad and were assigned to the area; they noticed the suspicious vehicle pulled over at a stop sign for about 20 seconds. It also interprets the Fourth Amendment. "[4] In other words, did the officers breach the Fourth Amendment with an illegal search and seizure? They tried to form the argument that this arrest was a breach of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The ruling rejected the defendants' argument that, because the officers' decision to stop them was motivated by an unsubstantiated suspicion of drug dealing and not a genuine concern regarding the manner in which the vehicle was being operated, the seizure was illegal under the Fourth Amendment.
This Note will analyze the Whren decision as the last word in the pretextual stop debate. Meanwhile, two officers dressed in plainclothes were patrolling the area in an unmarked car. There are numerous minor infractions for which officers can legally pull over a car -- dirty license plate, broken tail light, changing lanes without signaling, loud muffler, etc. For the traffic violation, the officers pulled over Whren and Brown.

This page was last edited on 8 October 2020, at 08:38. To submit an update or takedown request for this paper, please submit an Update/Correction/Removal There was nothing particularly harmful about the search and seizure.