Examples Of The Direct Legal Issues In The Terry Case

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Issue at Stake: The direct legal issue at stake is whether or not a search for weapons without probable cause or a warrant is an unreasonable search and seizure under the 4th Amendment of the Constitution. While the CLSSA is concerned with the direct legal issue, we also are raising anxious about the much broader issues surrounding the disparate effects that could shape how certain groups of people interact with our law enforcement on a daily basis as a result of this case. The arguments below are designed to outline these broad and societal issues within the Terry case. First Argument: Court’s should not be making laws regarding public policy. Judges are in the position to interpret law and to decide whether the policies put in place by the legislative and executive branches violate policy. In the case of Mr. …show more content…

This is a clear indication of the disparate effects of a colorblind law on minority groups. Our laws have been built on racial inequality which in return creates racial identities. The individuals who make up the minority of the racial identities are often the most affected by the laws as they do not acknowledge the experiences and hardships these groups face (Mutua, 2007). The decision in Terry is an example of how the “reasonable” suspicion doctrine was on the surface a colorblind law, however, it has been used to target minorities unjustly. Similarly, Thomas Rawls would argue the due process is afforded to everyone in society, therefore, minority groups should not be disproportionately represented when the statistics are shown for stop and frisk (Rawls, Ch. I). Mr. Terry was subjected to a colorblind law that affected his status as a citizen subjecting him to this search. These laws that were designed as colorblind are what is inherently wrong with our system and must be looked at by the