Your Rights in a Stop and Frisk

If the police attempt to stop you and to search your pockets or your bags, or to search your vehicle or your home, you have rights against unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution. Generally speaking, the US Supreme Court has interpreted the Fourth Amendment to require that law enforcement officers have what is known as reasonable suspicion to stop someone, and probable cause — a higher burden than reasonable suspicion — to conduct a warrantless search. However, there are some types of stops and searches where the requirement of probable cause does not always apply: the stop and frisk.

The notion of the “stop and frisk” arose in the US Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio (1968), and as a result, a stop and frisk is sometimes known as a Terry stop. What are your rights in the event of a stop and frisk, particularly if the frisk leads to an arrest? Our Texas criminal defense lawyers can tell you more about the stop and frisk under Terry and when a stop and frisk can be unlawful in Texas.

What is a Stop and Frisk? 

In a stop and frisk, the “stop” part is the same as it would be under any other circumstances — the law enforcement officer must have reasonable suspicion to stop you, whether you are on foot or in your car, and probable cause to search you without a warrant. However, the “frisk” part can be more complicated to understand. To conduct a stop and frisk, law enforcement generally must have something more than reasonable suspicion but can have less than probable cause.

A frisk, or a pat-down, can occur in some cases in connection with a stop when the law enforcement officer does not have the probable cause for a warrantless search, which is typically required under the Fourth Amendment. Rather, as the US Supreme Court ruled in Terry, under the Fourth Amendment, a police officer may stop a suspect on the street and frisk him or her without probable cause to arrest, if the police officer has a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime and has a reasonable belief that the person may be armed and presently dangerous.”

In short, the Court said that a stop and frisk cannot be unreasonable — i.e., it cannot violate the Fourth Amendment — but changed the understanding of what is reasonable for the police to conduct a warrantless frisk. The Court determined that a frisk would be reasonable and not in violation of the Fourth Amendment if a “reasonably prudent” law enforcement officer “would be warranted in the belief that his safety or that of others was in danger.” In other words, the question becomes whether the law enforcement officer acted reasonably under the circumstances. The Court indicated that, to determine whether a stop and frisk is reasonable, the focus should be on “the specific reasonable inferences which he [the police officer] is entitled to draw from the facts in light of his experience.”

Historically, legal advocates have argued that the stop and frisk, and the case law that has come after Terry, has resulted in discriminatory stops and frisks that disproportionately affect men of color, and Black men specifically. If you were stopped and frisked, it is critical to seek legal help.

 Contact a Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Today for Assistance

Were you stopped and frisked, and then arrested as a result of something found in your possession? It is important to know that, although cases involving the “stop and frisk” often find that the law enforcement officer was permitted to conduct the frisk, this is certainly not true in all circumstances. Moreover, advocates continue to push back against the existing law on the stop and frisk, aiming to ensure that the law is fair to everyone and that all people are treated equally and fairly. If you were stopped and frisked, you do have rights. It is possible that the stop and frisk you experienced was unlawful, and that your subsequent arrest and charges may need to be dismissed. Contact one of the experienced Texas criminal defense attorneys at John Reed, Attorney at Law today for help with your defense.

Sources:

supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/392/1/

ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/stop-and-frisk-0