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Racial Profiling Litigation: Current Status and Emerging Controversies

NCJ Number
240878
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2012 Pages: 122-145
Author(s)
Brian L. Withrow; Jeffrey Doug Dailey
Date Published
May 2012
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This article evaluated the effectiveness of racial profiling litigation.
Abstract
The racial profiling controversy is now about a decade and a half old and has developed into a bona fide research agenda. Hundreds of police departments have conducted studies and scores of researchers have written articles and books on the topic. The controversy came to prominence during a high-profile litigation involving the New Jersey State Police. Since then, with the exception of a few local cases, the courts have been relatively silent at the national level. Even so, a litigation pattern is beginning to emerge. This article documents this pattern and provides evidence that racial profiling litigation is likely to increase in the very near future. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage Journals.