MLchartDataset catalogue

Pretextual stop

Term · Law · MLC-T-LAW-003881

A traffic stop initiated by law enforcement officers for a minor traffic infraction, but with the underlying motive of investigating a more serious crime for which there is insufficient probable cause. While the stated reason for the stop is legitimate, the officer's true intent is to search for evidence of other offenses. The U.S. Supreme Court has generally upheld the legality of such stops if a valid traffic violation occurred.

Table 1. Record
IdentifierMLC-T-LAW-003881
FieldLaw
Record as JSON 
{
  "id": "MLC-T-LAW-003881",
  "term": "Pretextual stop",
  "field": "Law",
  "definition": "A traffic stop initiated by law enforcement officers for a minor traffic infraction, but with the underlying motive of investigating a more serious crime for which there is insufficient probable cause. While the stated reason for the stop is legitimate, the officer's true intent is to search for evidence of other offenses. The U.S. Supreme Court has generally upheld the legality of such stops if a valid traffic violation occurred.",
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/law/pretextual-stop/"
}

Record 3,909 of 5,439 in Law terminology (MLC-0107). Request the full dataset.