Terry v. Ohio

Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Police officer Martin McFadden observed three men acting suspiciously and believed they were casing a store for robbery. He approached, identified himself, and patted down the men, finding firearms on two of them. John Terry was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon. He appealed, arguing the search violated the Fourth Amendment.

Significance

Chief Justice Warren’s 8-1 opinion upheld the ‘stop and frisk’ as constitutional. The Court held that a police officer may conduct a brief investigatory stop (Terry stop) based on reasonable suspicion — less than probable cause — that criminal activity is afoot. The officer may also conduct a limited pat-down for weapons (frisk) if the officer has reasonable suspicion the person is armed and dangerous. Terry created the ‘reasonable suspicion’ standard as a lower threshold than probable cause, balancing law enforcement needs against Fourth Amendment protections.

Category

US Federal Case Law