Tag Archives: misdemeanor enforcement

Courtesy for Some, Misdemeanors for Others

Originally published at Cato Institute by John Pfaff | April 16, 2019
Case: Whren v. US
I am pleased to have this chance to share some thoughts on Sarah Seo’s new book, Policing the Open Road, about the relationship between our car-centered culture and policing.

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Pretextual Stops and the General Warrant: Stopping the March of the Whren Doctrine

Originally published at Cato Institute by Jay Schweikert | April 25, 2018
Cases: Randy Johnson v. US, Whren v. US
The specific language of the Fourth Amendment was largely a product of the colonists’ experience with the noxious institution of the general warrant. Historically, general warrants—and specifically, writs of assistance—gave law enforcement broad discretion to search wherever and whatever they deemed necessary, without the need to establish specific probable cause before a judicial officer.

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