Page 143 - Original 2020 Legal Guide By Jack Ryan

Task: Car Stop Based on Pretext

Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996).

The fact that the particular officer used the traffic violation as an

excuse to stop the vehicle for investigative purposes does not make

the stop unlawful under the 4 Amendment if some objectively
th
reasonable police officer would have stopped the vehicle for the

violation in question.

Caution: Traffic stops based upon an impermissible classification such

as race may still be challenged under the Constitution’s Equal

Protection Clause.

©2020 Jack Ryan Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute 142