Nature of the Case
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Facts
Plain clothes officers were patrolling a “high drug area” of the city in an unmarked car. Their suspicions were aroused when they passed a dark Pathfinder truck with temporary license plates, with youthful occupants and waiting at a stop sign. The driver was looking down into the lap of the passenger at his right. The truck remained stopped at the intersection for more than 20 seconds. The officers executed a U-turn to head back toward the truck, and it suddenly turned to its right, without signaling, and sped off at an “unreasonable” speed. The police followed. When it stopped behind a red light, they pulled up alongside, directed the driver to put the vehicle in park. The officers immediately observed two large plastic bags of what appeared to be crack cocaine in Whren's (D) hands. Ds were arrested, and quantities of several types of illegal drugs were retrieved from the vehicle. Ds challenged the legality of the stop and the resulting seizure of the drugs. They argued there was no probable cause for drugs and that the Officer’s asserted ground for approaching the vehicle - to give the driver a warning concerning traffic violations - was pretextual. The suppression motion was denied. Ds were convicted of the counts. The Court of Appeals affirmed: regardless of whether a police officer subjectively believes that the occupants of an automobile may be engaging in some other illegal behavior, a traffic stop is permissible as long as a reasonable officer in the same circumstances could have stopped the car for the suspected traffic violation. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.
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