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Preferred term

Whren v. United States  

Definition

  • Among the issues present in this case is the concern with police encounters with citizens of interest that may be viewed as pretextual in nature. The petitioners in Whren v. United States contend that the police stop for a relatively minor motor vehicle violation was used only to justify a subsequent lawful encounter with the occupants of the vehicle to investigate potential violations of drug laws rather than the stated reason for the vehicle stop, which, in this situation, was the enforcement of the motor vehicle code. [Source: Encyclopedia of Race and Crime; Whren v. United States]

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Date

  • 1996

URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/Whren_v._United_States

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