Stop-and-Frisk Unconstitutional Says Judge Shira Scheindlin

A judge has ruled that the NYPD’s controversial use of the stop-and-frisk tactic violated the rights of thousands of New Yorkers, The New York Times reports. Judge Shira Scheindlin’s decision Monday called for a federal monitor to watch over the police department to ensure cops are in compliance with the constitution.

Judge Shira A. Scheindlin issued her decision this morning stating that police officers have been methodically detaining innocent people in the street without offering any proper justification. According to the 195-page ruling mostly young minority men were stopped and frisked for illegal items such as drugs and weapons from 2004 to the present, even though crime had diminished during the same time period. The decision found that the searches and seizures violated the Fourth and 14th Amendments.

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