{"id":889,"date":"2024-06-25T13:50:45","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T17:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/?page_id=889"},"modified":"2025-05-12T11:11:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T15:11:17","slug":"confronting-racist-authority-the-vertical-narrowing-of-whren-v-united-states","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/in-print\/volume-15-2023\/confronting-racist-authority-the-vertical-narrowing-of-whren-v-united-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Confronting Racist Authority: The Vertical Narrowing of Whren v. United States"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Professor Derrick Bell stated, \u201cAt its essence, the willingness to protest represents less a response to a perceived affront than the acting out of a state of mind.\u201d\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_1' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_1'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>1<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_1' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #1<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_889_1' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_1' tabindex='-1'>1<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #1 content: <\/span>Derrick Bell, Confronting Authority, ix (1994).\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t This piece honors Professor Bell, his protest, and the state of mind he embodied: confronting authority. It seeks to embolden the everyday, persevering practitioner or judge who is troubled by racist Supreme Court precedent, namely <em>Whren v. United States<\/em>.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_2' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_2'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>2<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_2' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #2<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_889_2' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_2' tabindex='-1'>2<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #2 content: <\/span>517 U.S. 806 (1996).\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<p>For nearly three decades, practitioners and judges have dutifully applied <em>Whren<\/em> to even the most obviously harmful pretextual traffic stops. The <em>Whren<\/em> Court licensed the racial profiling and over-policing of countless Black and Brown people. What Justice Scalia described as the \u201crun-of-the-mine\u201d traffic stop predictably progressed into a colonizing and abusive police practice that is \u201cunusually harmful\u201d to the Fourth Amendment interests of Black and Brown people.<\/p>\n<p>When the <em>Whren<\/em> Court condoned the pretextual traffic stop of two African-American men in 1996, it enabled the seizing and killing of Black and Brown people that has continued until the present day. It also sanctioned arbitrary police invasion of the privacy and security interests of countless Black and Brown people. Justice Scalia\u2019s \u201crun-of-the-mine\u201d traffic stop has become at best, a demoralizing form of social control, and at worst, an ever-present death trap.<\/p>\n<p>For those practitioners and judges ready to confront <em>Whren<\/em>, there is a way to do so without overruling it, and thus without risking accusations of anarchy. The language of <em>Whren<\/em>, social facts and developments, adjacent case law, and the roots of our Fourth Amendment support a vertical \u201cnarrowing\u201d of this authority. Conceived by Professor Richard M. Re, this \u201cnarrowing from below\u201d occurs when lower courts interpret a higher court precedent more narrowly than its conventional reading, adopting a reason-able alternative interpretation of the precedent.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_3' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_3'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>3<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_3' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #3<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_889_3' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_3' tabindex='-1'>3<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #3 content: <\/span><em>See generally<\/em> Richard M. Re, <em>Narrowing Supreme Court Precedent from Below<\/em>, 104 Geo. L.J. 921, 923-30 (2016).\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t Narrowing is not overruling, and even the strictest model of vertical stare decisis supports its legitimacy.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_4' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_4'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>4<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_4' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #4<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_889_4' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_4' tabindex='-1'>4<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #4 content: <\/span><em>See id<\/em>. at 926.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t The Supreme Court itself narrows its own precedent and, significantly, has blessed the vertical narrowing of its precedent by lower courts.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_5' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_5'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>5<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_5' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #5<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_889_5' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_5' tabindex='-1'>5<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #5 content: <\/span><em>See<\/em> Richard M. Re, <em>Narrowing Precedent in the Supreme Court<\/em>, 114 Colum. L. Rev. 1861, 1909\n(2014); <em>see also<\/em> Re, <em>supra<\/em> note 3, at 926-27.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<p><em>Whren<\/em> is ripe for vertical narrowing where Justice Scalia juxtaposes the \u201crun-of-the-mine \u201d traffic stop with a seizure \u201cunusually harmful\u201d to an individual\u2019s privacy and physical interests.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_6' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_6'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>6<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_889_6' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #6<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_889_6' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_889_6' tabindex='-1'>6<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #6 content: <\/span><em>See<\/em> <em>Whren<\/em>, 517 U.S. at 818-19.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t Although the <em>Whren<\/em> Court might not have contemplated the pretextual traffic stop as \u201cunusually harmful\u201d in 1996, we know far better today. Practitioners and judges can and should seek to vertically narrow <em>Whren<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Continue Reading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2024\/06\/GT-GCRP240004.pdf\">Confronting Racist Authority<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Professor Derrick Bell stated, \u201cAt its essence, the willingness to protest represents less a response to a perceived affront than the acting out of a state of mind.\u201d This piece [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"parent":879,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"abstract.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"class_list":["post-889","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":903,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889\/revisions\/903"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/mcrp-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}