A new Supreme Court ruling will open the door for police to racially profile, according to Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The Monday ruling states that if a person is unlawfully stopped by a police officer and then found to have an outstanding warrant after the fact, the initial stop is still legal.
The case in point occurred in Utah, where Officer Douglas Fackrell had been monitoring a house for drug activity. Fackrell stopped Edward Strieff, a visitor at the house, without cause. Upon the stop, Fackrell discovered an outstanding warrant for a traffic violation for Strieff. Strieff was also found to be carrying methamphetamine.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion for the majority and found that while the initial stop was without cause, the ends justified the means: “The discovery of that warrant broke the causal chain between the unconstitutional stop and the discovery of evidence by compelling Officer Fackrell to arrest Strieff.”
