Challenges to Terry for the Twenty-First Century

Abstract:     
In this Article, the author argues that the Terry regime has a range of costs that may not be fully appreciated. It may cost us information in situations where probable cause does exist, because inarticulate police officers do not do a good job at recounting fast-moving events on the ground. Moreover, recasting the event in Terry terms may lead to memory contamination. The author argues that the rise of body-worn video will help the courts find a way forward, and that the constitutional regime needs the flexibility to allow courts to consider Fourth Amendment reasonableness based on all available information.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 34

Accepted Paper Series