Racial Profiling

Racial Profile

The act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior

Implicit Bias

Subconscious feeling, attitudes, prejudices, and stereotypes an individual has developed due to prior influences and imprints throughout their lives

Texas SB 1074

• Prohibits peace officers to from engaging in racial profiling

• Agencies MUST adopt a detailed written policy on racial profiling

• Each police chief must receive at least 40 hours of continuing education provided by the institute in this section each 24 month period

Education Code

Requires the institute to establish a program on racial profiling as part of the initial training and continuing education for police chiefs

Whren v. United States (1996)

• Pretextual stops

• Using a traffic violation to justify a traffic stop, even when the purpose of the police is to conduct an investigation into suspected criminal activity is not unconstitutional

Terry v. Ohio (1968)

• Terry frisk

• To perform a lawful "Terry stop," an officer must possess specific, articulable facts that lead to a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot and that the individual may be armed and dangerous.

Pennsylvania v. Mimms (1977)

• Driver exits vehicle

• Police officers can order a lawfully detained driver to step out of their vehicle during a traffic stop without needing any additional suspicion of criminal activity.

Maryland v. Wilson (1997)

• Passenger exit vehicle

• Police officers can order passengers to step out of a vehicle during a lawful traffic stop without needing any independent reasonable suspicion

Graham v. State (1998)

Continued detention of a passenger after the purpose of stop is accomplished is unreasonable, UNLESS there is reasonable articulable suspicion to justify continued detention

Pryor v. State (1998)

You can detain all occupants of a vehicle but may not detain for an extended period of time in the absence of justification

Ferris v. State (1999)

• Once traffic stop is done, it is done

Brendlin v. California (2007)

Passengers are seized during traffic stope

Virginia v. Moore (2008)

Police do not violate the Fourth Amendment when they make a warrantless arrest based on probable cause

Arizona v. Johnson (2009)

Police may pat down a vehicle passenger during a lawful traffic stop if they reasonably suspect the person is armed and dangerous, even without suspicion of other criminal activity

Carrol v. U.S

Police can search a vehicle without a warrant when the have PC that there is contraband or evidence of a crime

State v. Varley

A police officer's reasonable mistake about the law can still give them valid legal grounds to pull you over

Exigent Curcumstances

Something that requires immediate attention; for instance, preventing the destruction of evidence, or preventing the escape of a fleeing felon, or preventing harm to somebody

Inventory Searches

Warrantless search of a lawfully impounded vehicle conducted by police to determine the contents of a vehicle in order to fulfill a variety of administrative functions

Automobile Exception

Allows officers to search a vehicle without a search warrant if they have probable cause to believe that evidence or contraband is in the vehicle.