Terry v. Ohio: Fourth Amendment Search Standard

Year Decided

The case was decided on June 10, 1968, by the U.S. Supreme Court (Terry v. Ohio, 1968).

Facts:

In September 1963, Cleveland police detective Martin McFadden saw the two prime suspects, John Terry and Richard Chilton, loitering in front of a store, looking into the store window, and whispering with each other. Thinking that the men were up to no good McGuire confronted the men and introduced himself before searching Terry and finding a weapon on him. He was arrested along with Terry and Chilton both charged with carrying concealed weapons. Their defense attempted to have such evidence excluded from the trial because the search contravened the Fourth Amendment. The trial court sustained the search, and the case went up to the Supreme Court (Terry v. Ohio, 1968).

Issue:

The legal issue that this case presented to the Supreme Court was: Is it constitutional under the Fourth Amendment to allow a police officer to stop and frisk a suspect even in the absence of probable cause?

Decision:

The decision of the Court in supremacy was 8/1 in favor of the state who further affirming the constitutionality of the stop and Frisk procedure (Terry v Ohio, 1968).

Majority Decision Reasoning:

Chief Justice Warren delivering the majority opinion argued that the Fourth Amendment allows limited search (frisking) where officers reasonably believe that the person in question is armed and is a potential threat to the lives of the officers. The Court held that such invasions of privacy are justified based on the safety of the police officers as long as the officer initiating the stop can afford particularized factors justifying the suspicion. Floyd McFadden's observations of the suspicious movement of Terry met this standard (Terry vs. Ohio, 1968).

Dissenting Opinion Reasoning

Justice Douglas dissented and believed that the Fourth Amendment only allows search or seizure with probable cause. He argued that any stop based on suspicion undermines the Constitution and provides the police too much leeway, thus compromising the liberty interest (Terry v. Ohio, 1968).

Impact on Police Practice or Procedure

The Terry decision thus set up the possibility of the reasonable suspicion rule, allowing police officers to both stop and frisk people without featuring probable cause. In this practice, police power during street interactions was greatly enhanced while respecting people's rights. While others have stated that the practice augments over-policing in black communities, some have pointed out that it is useful for officer safety (Terry v. Ohio, 1968).

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