When is a Stop-and-Frisk a Violation of Constitutional Rights?
This afternoon I’ll be heading uptown for a march against the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policies.
The stats on NYC stop and frisk are by now well known. Cops stopped 685,724 people in the city last year, of whom 84% were black or Latino. They conducted more stops of black boys and men aged 14-24 then there are people in that demographic category. Just 9% of all stops ended in an arrest and just 2% led to the recovery of a weapon, even though half included frisks and more than 20% involved the use of force.
But I don’t want to talk about any of that today. What I want to talk about is the constitution.
Under the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, adopted as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” What constitutes and “unreasonable” search or seizure under the Fourth
The stats on NYC stop and frisk are by now well known. Cops stopped 685,724 people in the city last year, of whom 84% were black or Latino. They conducted more stops of black boys and men aged 14-24 then there are people in that demographic category. Just 9% of all stops ended in an arrest and just 2% led to the recovery of a weapon, even though half included frisks and more than 20% involved the use of force.
But I don’t want to talk about any of that today. What I want to talk about is the constitution.
Under the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, adopted as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” What constitutes and “unreasonable” search or seizure under the Fourth