ABSTRACT
A stop-and-frisk is a special category of police activity that is less than the thorough examination of a person or premises that would constitute a search. A stop-and-frisk is intended to serve objectives of law enforcement but to stop short of a violation of a citizen's constitutional rights. The stop-and-frisk concept represents an exception to the requirements for probable cause or a search warrant under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. In Terry v. Ohio, 392 US 1, the US Supreme Court recognized for the first time that a police stop-and-frisk might be constitutional on the basis of "reasonable suspicion" rather than probable cause. The critical legal issue is at what point the stop-and-frisk became a search and seizure, which would require a higher level of justification and afforded the suspect a greater level of constitutional protection.
