NCJ Number
119003
Date Published
1989
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article is a legal commentary on the findings of the case U.S. v. Sokolow regarding investigatory stops.
Abstract
The reasonable suspicion standard is a derivation of the probable cause command, applicable only to those brief detentions which fall short of being full-scale searches and seizures and which are necessitated by law enforcement exigencies, such as the need to stop ongoing crimes, to prevent imminent crimes, and to protect law enforcement officers in highly charged situations. By requiring reasonable suspicion as a prerequisite to such seizures, the Fourth Amendment protects innocent persons from being subjected to "overbearing or harassing" police conduct carried out solely on the basis of stereotypes or on the basis of irrelevant personal characteristics such as race.save Before detaining an individual, law enforcement officers must reasonably suspect that he is engaged in, or poised to commit, a criminal act at that moment.