ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how Terry doctrine creates a scope continuum approach to the Fourth Amendment and why that approach enables racial profiling. It identifies the components of Terry's seesaw effect in New York City. The chapter outlines a critical cultural theory methodology and draws theoretical insights from Terry's seesaw effect in New York City. It argues that the existence of phenomena such as Terry's seesaw effect requires a rethinking of our methods for analyzing the effects of legal doctrines. When public opinion swung against racial profiling, officers under-used their Terry stop powers as part of depolicing racial minorities at the Parade. A cultural shift toward articulating anti-crime measures as more important than civil liberties in conjunction with a shift toward cultural identity norms associating a particular social group with crime would lead to more frequent and vigorous investigation of that group.
