Racial profiling includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Although it is sometimes necessary for law enforcement officials to use race in carrying out their duties, there is a fine line they must walk. Critics of racial profiling point out that if race is used by police to stop, question, search, arrest, or convict a certain racial group disproportionately to other racial groups, such profiling is a violation of civil rights.
Most people are law-abiding citizens, regardless of race. Sadly, there are still many police officers who haven't figured that out yet. Therefore, the law stipulates that merely being a member of a race which a police officer believes to be more likely to commit a crime than another does not constitute probable cause.
In addition, the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution requires that all US citizens be treated equally under the law. The court has argued, therefore, that it is unconstitutional for any representative of the government to make legal decisions based on race. This view has been upheld by the US Supreme Court in Batson v. Kentucky and several other cases.
Racial profiling in prison may also include differential treatment of people in certain ethnic communities that do not occur in others. If neighborhoods populated by blacks, for example, are under surveillance for prostitution stings too much as compared to neighborhoods populated by whites, then a case for racial profiling could be made.
As everyone knows, since 9/11, the issue of racial profiling has become increasingly political, as the urgency of preventing terrorists from boarding aircraft has risen. Unfortunately, the lawyers of the Bell Legal Group often find themselves involved in these cases.
For example, in Los Angeles in December of 2001, a man of Middle Eastern descent named Assem Bayaa cleared all the security checks in the airport. Though Bayaa looked Arab, he was in fact an American citizen bound for New York. He had barely gotten settled in his seat when he was told by airplane crew that he made them "feel uncomfortable" by being on board the plane.
So, Bayaa got off the plane. Once off the plane, he wasn't searched or questioned any further. The only consolation he was given was a boarding pass for the next flight to New York. The luggage he had checked wasn't even taken off the plane he was originally on. He filed a lawsuit on the basis of discrimination against United Airlines. UA retaliated by filing a counter motion, in which the airline argued that they violated Bayaa's civil rights only in the interests of national security.
The airline, however didn't win, and their counter motion was dismissed in 2002. The district judge ruled that a pilot's discretion "does not grant him a license to discriminate."
(Read more about the airline racial profiling case here.)
Racial profiling hurts not only those groups who are targeted. It hurts all of us. Benjamin Franklin once said, "The nation which sacrifices a little freedom to gain a little security is worthy of neither."
How true that is when it comes to racial profiling. Using race to determine whether an individual is more likely to commit a crime is an injustice of the highest magnitude. Recently the practice has been sharply criticized by the general public as it became increasingly aware of just how often it still occurs in our communities.
The police misconduct attorneys of the Bell Legal Group take all forms of law enforcement misconduct very seriously. If you or a loved one believes that your civil rights were violated due to a miscarriage of justice by police authorities, consider that racial profiling may have played a part. Learn more about police misconduct litigation by contacting the attorneys of the Bell Legal Group to discuss your case.
Our skilled lawyers are willing and able to litigate cases involving racial profiling. Our counsel and research will determine whether racial considerations contributed to your injury.
American Civil Liberties Union definition of racial profiling.
Racial Profiling Data Collection Resource Center at Northeastern University.
US Bureau of Justice Statistics
"Racial Profiling in an Age of Terrorism", article published by Santa Clara University
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