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For Black College Prospects, Belonging And Safety Often Top Ivy Prestige – WCQS

Tales of talented black students on majority-white campuses running through a racial gauntlet that has them questioning their brilliance, abilities and place are familiar to parents like me who have a college-bound child at home.

The trauma that sometimes comes with being a black student at predominately white institutions is tangible. In their 2015 paper, "Reimagining Critical Race Theory in Education: Mental Health, Healing and the Pathway to Liberatory Praxis," Ebony McGee, a professor at Vanderbilt University, and David Stovall, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, found that black college students who weather the effects of studying and living on predominately white campuses suffer from a "physical and mental wear-and-tear that contributes to a host of psychological and physical ailments."

"We have documented alarming occurrences of anxiety, stress, depression and thoughts of suicide, as well as a host of physical ailments like hair loss, diabetes and heart disease," McGee said in an article on Vanderbilt's website, adding that calls for black students to draw on mental toughness and perseverance what researchers are referring to these days as "grit" overlook the additional burden black students bear as they face off against overt and covert racism.

"We have witnessed black students work themselves to the point of extreme illness in attempting to escape the constant threat of perceived intellectual inferiority," McGee said. "We argue that the current enthusiasm for teaching African American students with psychological traits like grit ignores the significant injustice of societal racism and the toll it takes, even on those students who appear to be the toughest and most successful."

At a historically black college or university (HBCU), students with diverse economic, social and geographic backgrounds share similar cultural and emotional frames of reference that can take the edge off the rigors of college life.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that over the past three years, nearly a third of HBCUs have seen at least a 20 percent increase in applications a spike that correlates with nationwide protests over high profile incidents like George Zimmerman's acquittal in Trayvon Martin's shooting death and Sandra Bland's jail death after a controversial police traffic stop.

Those protests spilled onto college campuses after students at the University of Missouri, citing volatile racial aggression against students of color, demanded and got the November 2015 resignation of the school's president and chancellor, who protesters said failed to address racial problems on campus. Success by Mizzou's students sparked sit-ins, rallies and protests at more than 100 colleges and universities, reverberating all the way through to earlier this month, when Yale University announced that, after campus-wide unrest, it would rename a residential college originally named after an alumnus who was a fierce slavery advocate.

And black parents are lockstep with their children including famous ones like Taraji P. Henson, who publicly announced she decided against sending her son, Marcell Johnson, to the University of Southern California after he said he was racially profiled on the USC campus. She chose Howard University, an HBCU and her alma mater.

"I'm not paying $50,000 so I can't sleep at night wondering is this the night my son is getting racially profiled on campus," Henson said about her decision.

Like her, black parents readily admit to sleeping better at night, too, knowing that their babies are reasonably protected from possible racial violence physically, emotionally, mentally on a campus where they can engage in political, social and creative movements, and still have some modicum of room for joy in an affirming environment amid the political and social upheaval unraveling across the country America.

For black families, the choice of where a child should attend college is every bit as much about self-care as it is about getting a solid education, and HBCUs are building on their reputations for offering both in spades.

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For Black College Prospects, Belonging And Safety Often Top Ivy Prestige - WCQS

Black Lives Matter: A movement in photos – ABC News

For the upcoming anniversary of the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, on Feb. 26, 2012, ABC News takes a look back at the Black Lives Matter movement. The phrase "Black Lives Matter" was born in a Facebook post by Alicia Garza in response to the July 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot Martin. The movement emerged as a reaction to the perceived violence and systemic racism by police toward African-American communities.

A man argues with a police officer over the acquittal of George Zimmerman, in New York, July 14, 2013.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Florida neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman was acquitted of murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin on July 13, 2013, sparking fury across the country. His acquittal is credited with beginning the Black Lives Matter movement, which first started as a hashtag on social media. To show solidarity, activists began wearing hooded sweatshirts as Trayvon Martin had been wearing the night he died.

Sam Hill, 11, wipes away tears during a youth service at the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Sanford, Florida, July 14, 2013. Many in the congregation wore shirts with a photo of Martin.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Photo

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, 43, died on Staten Island, New York, after he was stopped by several officers who put him in what has been described as a chokehold. His last words, I cant breathe, became a slogan for Black Lives Matter and other protesters.

Logan Browning stands with duct tape over her mouth with other demonstrators during a protest against police violence in Hollywood, California, Dec. 6, 2014.

Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters

A year later, on Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was fatally shot by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri. Protests in the St. Louis area went on for weeks following the shooting, and the Black Lives Matter movement helped organize demonstrations across the country. Wilson was not indicted, and that announcement set off another wave of protests in November of that year.

Tear gas surrounds a woman kneeling in the street with her hands in the air after a protest for Michael Brown, Aug. 17, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Patrisse Cullors, one of the cofounders of the Black Lives Matter movement, emphasized the importance of photography being used by activists on social media to represent the movement. "These images have shaped the ideas about our movement. We have seen black folks resist tear gas, rubber bullets, and racist elected officials. The images have provided hope and strength," she told ABC News.

A demonstrator throws a tear gas container during a protest over the shooting death of Michael Brown, Aug. 13, 2014, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP Photo

Patrisse Cullors said that through images of the movement she sees "the urgency in Black America, the fight, resilience, rage and desperation."

Police fire tear gas during a protest over the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 18, 2014.

David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Polaris

Protesters march in the street as lightning flashes in the distance in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 20, 2014.

Jeff Roberson/AP Photo

A man is doused with milk and sprayed with mist after being hit by an eye irritant from police in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 20, 2014, during the protests over the death of Michael Brown.

Adrees Latif/Reuters

Michael Brown Sr. cries out as his son's casket is lowered into the ground at St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, Aug. 25, 2014.

Richard Perry/Reuters

Pastor Charles Burton lies on the driveway at the Ferguson, Missouri, police station as a chalk drawing is made as a memorial to Michael Brown, Oct. 13, 2014.

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo

Months after Michael Browns death, Laquan McDonald, 17, was shot 16 times and killed on Oct. 20, 2014, in Chicago. Protests broke out after police dashcam footage was released showing the fatal exchange between the police officer and McDonald, appearing to contradict officers accounts.

Demonstrators hold a "Laquan" sign, Nov. 24, 2015, in Chicago following the release of police dashcam video of the shooting death of Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke. He was charged with first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty. As of Jan. 29, he is awaiting trial.

Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images

On Nov. 25., 2014, a grand jury decided there was not enough probable cause to indict police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, leading to more protests across the U.S. In this photo, police Sgt. Bret Barnum hugs 12-year-old Devonte Hart during a demonstration calling for police reform in Portland, Oregon.

Johnny Nguyen

Bishop Derrick Robinson, who had become a notable leader among the Ferguson protesters, was arrested by riot police while protesting in a public park after a non-violent march outside a football game, Nov. 30, 2014, in St. Louis.

Natalie Keyssar

Just before the controversial grand jury decision in the Michael Brown shooting case, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot to death in Cleveland on Nov. 22, 2014. Tamir was playing with a toy gun in a public park when officers mistook it for a real gun, and Officer Timothy Loehmann shot him at point-blank range seconds after arriving on the scene.

In December 2015, protesters took to the streets of downtown Cleveland the day after the local grand jury decided not to indict Loehmann and his partner.

Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

People join in the National March Against Police Violence, which was organized by the National Action Network, Dec. 13, 2014, in New York. The march coincided with a march in Washington, D.C., following two grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers in the deaths of unarmed African-American men by police.

Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Protesters congregate at the Alameda County Court House during a Millions March demonstration protesting the killing of unarmed African-American men by police, Dec. 13, 2014, in Oakland, California. The march was one of many held nationwide.

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

People join hands during the National March Against Police Violence, which proceeded down Broadway to the headquarters of the New York Police Department Dec. 13, 2014, in New York.

Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Demonstrators stage a die-in at the Chicago Water Tower in Chicago during a march along the Magnificent Mile shopping district on Michigan Avenue to protest police abuse, Dec. 13, 2014.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Photographer Sheila Pree Bright said, From this particular protest it showed me how young people from all backgrounds came together in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. I truly believe the young people are the ones who will bring about true change.

Children carry signs during a demonstration organized for Michael Brown calling for national solidarity in Ferguson, Missouri, March 20, 2015.

Sheila Pree Bright

Black Lives Matter protesters took to the streets again following the fatal shooting of Walter Scott, whose coffin is seen above. Scott, 50, was pulled over for a broken tail light, April 4, 2015, in North Charleston, South Carolina, and subsequently shot and killed by Officer Michael Slager. Cellphone video recorded by a passerby appears to show Scott being shot in the back as he is running away, seemingly contradicting the officers testimony and sparking outrage nationwide. Slagers first state criminal trial ended in a hung jury. His federal civil rights trial is scheduled for this spring.

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Two weeks after Walter Scotts shooting, Freddie Gray, 25, died, April 19, 2015, after his arrest a week earlier by Baltimore police. An autopsy concluded that his death was caused by a "high-energy" injury to his neck and spine that likely occurred while Gray was in the back of the police van.

Hundreds of demonstrators march toward the Baltimore Police Western District station during a protest against police brutality and the death of Gray in the Sandtown neighborhood April 22, 2015, in Baltimore.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Though the medical examiner ruled Freddie Grays death a homicide, none of the six officers charged were found guilty. Each officer was given a separate trial. One ended in a mistrial, three resulted in aquittals and then all remaining charges were dropped.

People wait for the bus while police secure Mondawmin Mall, April 29, 2015, in Baltimore, where riots broke out on the day of Freddie Grays funeral. A state of emergency was issued and National Guard troops were deployed following the violent gathering where people threw objects at police, set cars on fire and looted businesses.

Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Photographer Devin Allen's photo from the Freddie Gray protests in Baltimore on April 25, 2015 made the cover of Time magazine's May 11, 2015, issue with the year "1960" crossed out and replaced with "2015" with the text "What Has Changed and What Hasn't." Allen first published the image on his Instagram and Twitter accounts after being unable to get his images from other protests published. "I used Instagram, Twitter to get my photos out. Social media is a game changer for journalism. It gives people that cant be heard a voice," he said.

Devin Allen

A boy looks out a bus window at a line of National Guard and police officers in riot gear in the Winchester-Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore, May 1, 2015, after charges were announced for six officers in connection with the death of Freddie Gray.

Gabriella Demczuk

People celebrate after charges were announced against the police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray in the Winchester-Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore, May 2, 2015. Marilyn Mosby, states attorney for Baltimore, indicted all six officers involved with criminal charges, stating that Gray's death was a homicide case.

Gabriella Demczuk

A partially burned American flag lays on the street near the spot where Michael Brown was killed before an event to mark the one-year anniversary of his death in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 9, 2015. Hundreds of people marched, prayed and held moments of silence in Ferguson to mark the anniversary.

Rick Wilking/Reuters

Mecca Verde, 18, stands with other demonstrators of the Black Lives Matter movement at the Inner Harbor protesting the confirmation of Kevin Davis as the new Baltimore city police commissioner in Baltimore, Oct. 19, 2015. Protesters opposed his confirmation, stating that he did not reach out to residents to learn the issues plaguing their community after the riots in April and the steady rise in homicides.

Gabriella Demczuk

Philando Castile, 32, was shot multiple times by police Officer Jeronimo Yanez after being pulled over for a broken tail light, July 6, 2016, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. The gruesome aftermath was streamed live on Facebook by Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was sitting next to him in the car when he was killed. On Nov. 16, 2016, Yanez was charged with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. He is awaiting trial.

Demonstrators march to protest the shooting death of Philando Castile, July 9, 2016, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

People protest the police shootings during five days of demonstrations on July 11, 2016, in Atlanta following the deaths of Philando Castile outside St. Paul and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. Sterling was shot and killed while pinned to the ground during an altercation with two police officers outside a convenience store on July 5, 2016. Crowds gathered in protest after a graphic video of the incident was posted online. The officers involved in Sterlings death have yet to have charges brought against them, but as of July 7, 2016, a civil rights investigation was opened by the DOJ.

Sheila Pree Bright

Dallas Police Chief David Brown pauses at a prayer vigil following the deaths of five police officers during a Black Live Matter march, July 8, 2016, in Dallas, Texas.

Five police officers were killed and seven others were injured in a coordinated ambush at an anti-police brutality demonstration in Dallas following the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. The gunman, Micah Xavier Johnson, who was black, had previously expressed anger at police and white people. After a standoff he was killed when police detonated an explosive strapped to a robot.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A man protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 9, 2016.

Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

Ieshia Evans is detained by law enforcement in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 9, 2016, during a demonstration following the shooting of Alton Sterling.

Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was killed, Sept. 20, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina, by Brentley Vinson, an African-American police officer. Police stated that Scott had a handgun and did not comply with the officer's instructions to "drop the weapon." Kerr Putney, chief of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, said that a handgun was seized at the scene.

Police officers wearing riot gear block a road during protests after police fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott, 43, in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Charlotte, North Carolina, Sept. 20, 2016.

Adam Rhew/Charlotte Magazine/Reuters

Attorney General Loretta Lynch launched an investigation into Keith Lamont Scott's shooting death with the DOJ and found officer Brentley Vinson "acted lawfully" and no charges were brought against him.

Police officers face off with protesters during protests in the early hours of Sept. 21, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina, following the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. The shooting sparked a week of sometimes violent demonstrations which caused some businesses to close, the deployment of National Guard troops and the declaration of a state of emergency by Gov. Pat McCrory.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images

A woman smears blood on a police riot shield, Sept. 21, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Demonstrators attempt to make their way onto Interstate 277 to block traffic as they march in the streets amid a heavy police and National Guard presence as they protest the death of Keith Lamont Scott, Sept. 22, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Brian Blanco/Getty Images

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Black Lives Matter: A movement in photos - ABC News

Intersection: Race Relations In Sanford – Intersection – Local News … – WMFE

The memorial to Trayvon Martin, Goldsboro, Sanford. Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE

Its been five years since the shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. Sanford became the focal point for the worlds media as protesters demanded an arrest for the shooter, George Zimmerman. And the spotlight stayed on Sanford the following year as a jury found Zimmerman not guilty of murder.

The shooting and its aftermath put pressure on the citys police department and highlighted tensions between the police and the historic African American community of Goldsboro.

The cityreached out to African American and white faith leaders to try to help heal some of the divisions in the community.

Pastor Lowman Oliver from St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, Reverend Charlie Holt from St. Peters Church in Lake Mary, Francis Oliver, chief curator at the Goldsboro History Centerand Frank Hale,president of the Greater Sanford regional chamber of commerce joinIntersection to talk about community building and race relations in Sanford today.

Intersections Matthew Peddie also sat down with police chief Cecil Smith and mayor Jeff Triplett to talk about what the city has done to address those divisions. Interview here.

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Intersection: Race Relations In Sanford - Intersection - Local News ... - WMFE

US Supreme Court weighs law barring sex offenders from Facebook – Toronto Star

A 2008 North Carolina law bans sex offenders from using commercial social networking sites like Facebook that children could join. The U.S. Supreme Court is deciding whether the law is so broad it violates the Constitutions free-speech protections. ( JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP/GETTY IMAGES )

By Emery P. DalesioAssociated Press

Sun., Feb. 26, 2017

RALEIGH, N.C.Fresh from a trip to traffic court, Lester Packingham Jr. celebrated his turn of good fortune by announcing to friends on Facebook that his pending ticket was dismissed without his having said a word.

No fine. No Court costs. No nothing. Praise be to God. Wow. Thanks, Jesus, Packingham wrote in a 2010 post that led to a lawsuit being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday.

Packingham, 36, was forbidden by a 2008 North Carolina law from using commercial social networking sites like Facebook that children could join. Thats because hes a registered sex offender who was convicted of indecent liberties with a minor when he was 21. He served 10 months in prison.

A Durham police officer investigated Packinghams post and determined he used an alias rather than his real name. Packingham was prosecuted, convicted of a felony and received a suspended prison sentence. His lawyers say no evidence pointed to Packingham using Facebook or his computer to communicate with minors or that he posted anything inappropriate or obscene.

Now the Supreme Courts task is deciding whether the law, meant to prevent communications between sex offenders and minors via social media, is so broad that it violates the Constitutions free-speech protections.

The case reaches the Supreme Court after it was upheld by North Carolinas highest court in a divided ruling. The law addressed websites that might allow sex offenders to gather information about minors, the state court said. But dissenting justices argued the ban extends further and could outlaw reading the New York Times and Food Network website.

Lawyers arguing on Monday are expected to continue that dispute.

Groups including the libertarian Cato Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union argue the North Carolina law could bar sex offenders from online life that includes looking for jobs or reading the daily musings of President Donald Trump and is unconstitutional.

Everyday Americans understand that social media, which includes Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, are absolutely central to their daily life and how the First Amendment is exercised in America today, said Stanford law professor David Goldberg, who will represent Packingham at the Supreme Court on Monday.

Though the intent of North Carolina lawmakers may have been to block sexual predators from finding and grooming prey online, Goldberg said, the law goes further and makes it a crime for someone on a sex-offender registry to say anything about any subject on social media.

That goes way, way too far, Goldberg said. Its a crime to do anything, including what Mr. Packingham did, which was to say God is good because he was victorious in traffic court. Theres never been any suggestion that he was up to anything but exercising his freedom of speech.

Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana also have laws restricting sex offenders use of use of social media sites. Nine other states require offenders to disclose their online usernames and profiles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

We have to protect young people wherever they are, whether thats at school or at summer camp or increasingly online, said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, whose office is defending the law. This North Carolina law keeps registered sex offenders off of social networking websites that kids use without denying the offenders access to the Internet. It just keeps them off of certain websites.

The laws supporters contend that it doesnt regulate what sex offenders say, just the time, place and manner of their speech, which most people understand through the legal maxim that you cant yell fire in a crowded movie theatre. The law doesnt ban offenders from using the Internet entirely, just social media sites like Facebook, said Louisiana Deputy Solicitor General Colin Clark, who wrote a brief supporting the law joined by attorneys general in 12 other states.

Theres nothing that a sex offender cant say on the internet. They just cant say it on Facebook, Clark said. His state, Nebraska and Indiana have had laws that federal courts ruled violated the free-speech rights of sex offenders. Louisiana amended its statute to comply with the court decision.

The vast majority of the more than 800,000 sex offenders nationwide are required to register their names, addresses and photographs on registries maintained by states, Clark said.

States are trying to come up with a practical solution to the practical problem of sex offenders being on social media and harvesting information about our children and then soliciting them online, he said.

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US Supreme Court weighs law barring sex offenders from Facebook - Toronto Star

The Fourth Amendment – Text | Transaltion | Key Cases

The 4th Amendment, fundamentally, is concerned with privacy. A persons space either in terms of possessions or body cannot be intruded upon without justification. As stated in the amendment, a search or seizure must not be unreasonable.For example, in Weeks v. United States (1914) the Supreme Court unanimously asserted that a persons possessions could not be seized from a private residence unless the police had a warrant. A warrant is a document issued by a court after evidence is put forward that shows that there is probable cause to perform the search. The probable cause standard is considered to be something more than a reasonable suspicion. But, obviously, even probable cause is still not enough to confirm guilt. It is often vague and unclear as to when probable cause exists. As such, the law surrounding the 4th Amendment has continued to shift over the decades, as definitions have changed and exceptions have been carved out.Indeed, even the definition of a search has seen modifications over the years. In Olmstead v. United States (1928), for example, the Supreme Court rejected the notion that electronic surveillance by wiretapping phones constituted a search. But in Katz v. United States (1967), the Court reversed this precedent. Recalling the purpose of the 4th Amendment to assure citizens of their expected privacy wiretapping was brought under the umbrella of a search. A warrant is now required for these actions as well (though, today, the federal government does engage in warrant-less wiretaps within the United States for the purpose of combating terrorism though the Supreme Court has yet to weight in on the constitutionality of these potential searches).4th Amendment analysis often is involved in issues of police brutality and excessive force as well. An arrest of a person can be considered a seizure or intrusion upon that persons body. The Court dealt with exactly this kind of analysis in the 1989 case Graham v. Connor. Police officers detained and arrested a man they saw running out of a convenience store while they questioned the store clerks to make sure nothing had been stolen. The man claimed he was diabetic and having an insulin reaction, and that he was hurrying to return to a friends house to get the necessary means to stop his reaction. The police ignored his repeated requests regarding his condition, and he suffered injuries as a result while waiting to determine nothing illegal had happened in the store. The man brought a lawsuit alleging that this violated his 4th and 14th amendment rights. The lower courts applied a test that analyzed the intent of the police officers, and dismissed the plaintiffs claims when they decided that the police did not have a sadistic or malicious intent in keeping him detained.The Supreme Court disagreed and vacated the lower courts decisions. In cases involving excessive force violations of the 4th amendment, the Court determined that a reasonableness standard should be used rather than subjective intent test. This standard is easier for plaintiffs to prove. Additionally, this test must be applied through the 4th Amendment itself, rather than the Due Process Clause or other amendments. However, the Court also made sure to mention that this analysis must take into account the fact that police officers are frequently required to make fast decisions regarding their safety, and therefore this reasonableness must be viewed from the perspective of a reasonable officer at the scene.The modernization of 4th Amendment protections has continued in the 2014 decision Riley v. California. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that police need a warrant in order to search the contents of a cellphone. The government argued that cell phones could be searched upon the arrest of an individual, comparing this to the legally acceptable search of a prisoners pockets. The Court acknowledged that given the immense amount of data stored about a person on a cell phone, searching a phone was instead far more similar to (and perhaps even worse than) searching a persons house.Still, not all searches require warrants or even probable cause. First, police officers routinely pull individuals over without warrants. Often, the facts surrounding the pull-over or the arrest constitute probable cause. If a police officer actually sees a person using drugs, for example, there is obviously probable cause for an arrest and the officer need not wait for a warrant to do his or her job. However, there are instances when police may perform searches even without probable cause at all, and with the lesser (though still somewhat vague) standard of reasonable suspicion. For example, in Terry v. Ohio (1968), the Supreme Court considered a search that police officers had conducted. The officers had patted down individuals walking on the street that they felt were exhibiting suspicious behavior. It turned out that the individuals were, in fact, carrying illegal weapons. But the defendants claimed that those weapons were found through an unconstitutional search: the officers did not have probable cause to think that the men were carrying weapons, and the defendants sought to suppress whatever the officers may have found through that search. The Court, however, rejected this argument and acknowledged that on-the-job police officers need to be permitted some amount of leeway in order to properly do their jobs. The facts of the case made the search sufficiently reasonable. As long as the search was not merely conducted on a hunch, it did not violate the 4th Amendment.

As an aside, other exceptions to needing a warrant for a search have been established as well. For example, in New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985), the Court upheld a search performed in a school by an administrator without a warrant. Students can be searched provided there is at least reasonable suspicion.

Olmstead v. United States (1928)

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Katz v. United States (1967)

Terry v. Ohio (1968)

New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)

Graham v. Connor (1989)

County of Riverside v. McLaughlin (1991)

U.S. v. Jones (2012)

Florida v. Harris (2013)

Missouri v. McNeely (2013)

Maryland v. King (2013)

Fernandez v. California (2013)

Riley v. California (2014)

Heien v. North Carolina (2014)Florida v. Harris(2013)Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC(2012)

Smith V. Maryland(1979)

Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections(1966)

Harman v. Forssenius(1965)

Breedlove v. Suttles(1937)

Fernandez v. California(2014)

Scott v. Harris(2007)

Brady v. Heien(2014)

Delaware v. Prouse(1979)

Heien v. North Carolina(2014)

King v. Burwell(2014)

Rodriguez v. United States(2015)

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The Fourth Amendment - Text | Transaltion | Key Cases