Terry Vs Ohio Case Study

Case Brief: Terry v. Ohio

Facts: A detective with the Cleveland Police Department was working a downtown beat which he had patrolled for many years and was familiar with the community. During his patrol the officer noticed the Petitioner talking with another individual on a street corner while repeatedly walking up and down the same street. The men would periodically peer into a store window and then talk some more. The men also spoke to a third man whom they eventually followed up the street. The detective believed that the petitioner and the other man was “casing a job” or planning to “stick-up” the store for a potential robbery. The detective decided to approach the men for questioning, and given the nature of the behavior, the officer decided to perform a quick search of the men before questioning in fear that they may be carrying dangerous weapons to conduct the criminal activity to include robbery. A “Stop and Frisk” was performed of the petitioner which produced a concealed weapon and the petitioner was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Issues: …show more content…
In particular the question arises if it is a violation of “Stop and Frisk” under the Fourth Amendment based on the suspicions of the officer at the time of the immediate contact with the petitioner. The issue specifically refers to whether the officer in this case had the right to “Stop and Frisk” the subject without probable cause based on the observations of the officer and recovered dangerous weapons from the subjects