Law Commons^™

Police Discretion And Traffic Enforcement: A Government Of Men, Illya Lichtenberg

Cleveland State Law Review

Police across the nation have long been accused of using the broad discretion afforded to them in traffic enforcement as a pretext for criminal investigation. Despite this widely held belief, there is little evidence to suggest that courts have put forth any effort, or have even considered remedying or reducing the wide spread abuse of police discretion in traffic stops, with the exception of racial profiling. This Article addresses the apparent gap in the legal and social science literature concerning the unequal enforcement of traffic laws. How extensive do the police abuse the discretionary powers they are afforded in enforcing …