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The Pros And Cons Of Stop And Frrisk Case

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On October 31, 1963, a veteran detective of 39 years in downtown Cleveland noticed two men (one being the petitioner Terry) walking back in forth in front of the same store numerous times each. When they returned they would talk between each other for a few moments. Then, the men met with a third man and stood outside “suspiciously” chatting before the third man left (Terry v. Ohio). The officer suspected that the men were casing the stores for a stick-up or robbery and began to follow the two men (Oyez). Again, the two men met with the third man around the block in front of another store and again conversed. That is when the detective approached the three men, announcing himself as a police officer and asking the names of the men (Terry v. Ohio). The men replied with a low mumble, upon which the officer grabbed Terry, spun him around and patted him down (ACLU Ohio). Upon patting down his overcoat, he found a pistol on Terry, and then another pistol on the other man that was originally with Terry, before patting down and arresting the three men on concealed weapon charges. This type of stop and frisk technique is now known as the “Terry frisk” because of this (Argiriou). This case revolves around whether the stop and frisk by the officer violated the Fourth Amendment rights of Terry, which provides protection from illegal search and seizures (Oyez). Do the police have the ability to stop and pat down anyone that they deem suspicious, or do people have more rights to

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