Abstract
Randall Susskind originally proposed the "reasonable African American standard” for Terry stops as a way to minimize racial disparities in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. This paper will expand upon Susskind's suggested standard within the specific context of "location plus evasion" stops, in which suspects are stopped upon flight in a high-crime neighborhood. Part one will present the reasonable Black person standard in the context of Illinois v. Wardlow, a recent "location plus evasion case." Part one will then show how this alternative standard better accounts for Wardlow's "raced" decision to flee, the police officers' "raced" decision to stop him, and the Court's "raced" decision to find reasonable and articulable suspicion. Part two will discuss and compare the reasonable Black person standard with analogous alternative reasonable person standards in sexual harassment and criminal law. Part three will anticipate and rebut potential criticisms of the proposed standard.
Recommended Citation
Mia Carpiniello,
Striking a Sincere Balance: A Reasonable Black Person Standard for "Location Plus Evasion" Terry Stops,
6
Mich. J. Race & L.
355
(2001).
Available at:
https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjrl/vol6/iss2/7
Included in
Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Fourth Amendment Commons, Law and Race Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons