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Full-Text Articles in Law and Race
Are Constitutional Rights Enough? An Empirical Assessment Of Racial Bias In Police Stops, Rohit Asirvatham, Michael D. Frakes
Are Constitutional Rights Enough? An Empirical Assessment Of Racial Bias In Police Stops, Rohit Asirvatham, Michael D. Frakes
Northwestern University Law Review
This Article empirically tests the conventional wisdom that a permissive constitutional standard bearing on pretextual traffic stops—such as the one announced by the Supreme Court in Whren v. United States—contributes to racial disparities in traffic stops. To gain empirical traction on this question, we look to state constitutional law. In particular, we consider a natural experiment afforded by changes in the State of Washington’s rules regarding traffic stops. Following Whren, the Washington Supreme Court first took a more restrictive stance than the U.S. Supreme Court, prohibiting pretextual stops by police officers, but later reversed course and instituted a …
The Futile Fourth Amendment: Understanding Police Excessive Force Doctrine Through An Empirical Assessment Of Graham V. Connor, Osagie K. Obasogie, Zachary Newman
The Futile Fourth Amendment: Understanding Police Excessive Force Doctrine Through An Empirical Assessment Of Graham V. Connor, Osagie K. Obasogie, Zachary Newman
Northwestern University Law Review
Graham v. Connor established the modern constitutional landscape for police excessive force claims. The Supreme Court not only refined an objective reasonableness test to describe the constitutional standard, but also held that the Fourth Amendment is the sole avenue for courts to adjudicate claims that police violated a person’s constitutional rights in using force. In this Essay, we ask: What impact did this decision have on the nature of police excessive force claims in federal courts? To address this, we engaged in a qualitative examination of 500 federal cases (250 in the twenty-six years before Graham and 250 in the …
The Fallacy Of A Colorblind Consent Search Doctrine, Beau C. Tremitiere
The Fallacy Of A Colorblind Consent Search Doctrine, Beau C. Tremitiere
Northwestern University Law Review
Most searches conducted by police officers are “consensual” and thus beyond the reach of the Fourth Amendment. However, such searches violate the Fourth Amendment when, under the totality of circumstances, consent appears to be a product of coercion—that is, when the consent was involuntary. In 1980, in Mendenhall v. United States, the Supreme Court identified race as a relevant factor courts should consider but failed to explain precisely why race was relevant. After decades of mistreatment and state-sanctioned violence, distrust of law enforcement was rampant in communities of color, and the Mendenhall Court correctly intuited (but failed to describe) the …
Litigating Police Misconduct: Does The Litigation Process Matter? Does It Work?
Litigating Police Misconduct: Does The Litigation Process Matter? Does It Work?
Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy
No abstract provided.
Police In America: Ensuring Accountability And Mitigating Racial Bias Feat. Paul Butler
Police In America: Ensuring Accountability And Mitigating Racial Bias Feat. Paul Butler
Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy
No abstract provided.