| Sumario: | The writer discusses the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Whren v. United States and the effect that the decision will have in relation to pretextual traffic stops. In the Whren case, police officers used traffic violations as a pretext to stop a vehicle and investigate possible drug offenses even though the officers had neither probable cause nor reasonable suspicion to stop the driver for narcotics crimes. The government argued that at any time the police could have stopped the defendant for a traffic infraction and that it did not matter that they actually stopped him to investigate a crime for which they had little or no evidence. The Court upheld this argument. This decision represents more than a lost opportunity for the Court to rein in some police practices that go against the ideas of freedom and equal treatment. It represents a clear move in the other direction—toward authoritarianism, racist policing, and a view of minorities as criminals, rather than citizens. Examples of other cases of pretextual traffic stops are provided.
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