ABSTRACT
In Terry v. Ohio, 392 US 1, the US Supreme Court upheld the conviction of an individual who was arrested for the possession of concealed firearms after being searched by a police officer who suspected him of preparing to rob a store. In Weeks v. United States, 232 US 383, the Supreme Court applied this rule against the federal government, and then in Mapp v. Ohio, 367 US 643, the Court applied it to state and local governments. Supporters of the police consider Terry v. Ohio an important case defending and upholding the ability and discretion of officers to stop and search individuals whom they suspect of breaking the law. Some commentators argue that Terry v. Ohio seems to endorse the stopping of people on the basis of race or other personal biases of the police, if characteristics form the basis of the officer's hunch, and this, they contend, allows police to engage in racial profiling.
