SCOTUS won't review role of race in police stops
Source: Courthouse News Service
June 22, 2026
WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court turned down an opportunity to consider the role of race in policing, refusing on Monday to review whether D.C. officers recovered a federal agent’s stolen gun through an unlawful police stop. A lower court found that officers with the city’s gun recovery unit unlawfully stopped Donte Carter without reasonable suspicion. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals subsequently suppressed the evidence obtained during the stop and vacated Carter’s firearm and theft convictions.
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to review that decision, arguing the appeals court effectively overturned Carter’s convictions because, as a Black man, he could have reasonably believed he had no choice but to comply with police despite the lack of legal grounds for the stop. According to the government, that approach makes the seizure analysis race-specific, allowing the same police conduct to constitute a seizure for one person but not another based on race.
“Injecting such stereotypes into the Fourth Amendment puts that Amendment at cross-purposes with the equal-protection guarantee,” the Trump administration wrote. “It also puts officers in the untenable and unworkable position of needing to rely on racial stereotyping in order to assess the legality of their conduct.”
The Supreme Court denied the Trump administration’s petition. But Justice Samuel Alito, a George W. Bush appointee, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, a George H. W. Bush appointee, dissented, arguing that the lawfulness of the lower court ruling was important for doctrinal and practical reasons.
Read more: https://courthousenews.com/scotus-wont-review-role-of-race-in-police-stops/
Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-885_5h26.pdf
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