4.2: Terry v. Ohio

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PETITIONER RESPONDENT

Terry Ohio

LOCATION

Street Corner

DOCKET NO. DECIDED BY

67 Warren Court

CITATION

392 US 1 (1968)

ARGUED

Dec 12, 1967

DECIDED

Jun 10, 1968

Facts of the case

Terry and two other men were observed by a plain clothes policeman in what the officer believed to be "casing a job, a stick-up." The officer stopped and frisked the three men, and found weapons on two of them. Terry was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and sentenced to three years in jail.

Question

Was the search and seizure of Terry and the other men in violation of the Fourth Amendment?

Conclusion

8–1 DECISION

MAJORITY OPINION BY EARL WARREN

FOR	AGAINST
Fortas Warren Brennan Marshall Stewart Black White Harlan	Douglas

FOR

AGAINST

Fortas

Warren

Brennan

Marshall

Stewart

Black

White

Harlan

Douglas

In an 8-to-1 decision, the Court held that the search undertaken by the officer was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment and that the weapons seized could be introduced into evidence against Terry. Attempting to focus narrowly on the facts of this particular case, the Court found that the officer acted on more than a "hunch" and that "a reasonably prudent man would have been warranted in believing [Terry] was armed and thus presented a threat to the officer's safety while he was investigating his suspicious behavior." The Court found that the searches undertaken were limited in scope and designed to protect the officer's safety incident to the investigation.

Contributors and Attributions

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