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50 Clev. St. L. Rev. 425 (2002-2003)
Police Discretion and Traffic Enforcement: A Government of Men

handle is hein.journals/clevslr50 and id is 435 raw text is: POLICE DISCRETION AND TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT: A GOVERNMENT OF MEN? ILLYA LICHTENBERG' If Jefferson were writing the Declaration of Independence today he would undoubtedly be besieged to include an assertion of the inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness' in an automobile.' I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... 426 II. POLICE DISCRETION AND TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT: THE LAW .................................................... 427 III. POLICE DISCRETION IN TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND JUDICIAL REVIEW ................................ 430 A. W hren and Atwater ...................................................... 434 IV. POLICE DISCRETION AND TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT: PRACTICE ................................................... 436 A. The Scope of Police Discretion in Traffic Stops .......... 436 B. Conduct of the Motorist During the Traffic Stop .........439 C . D em eanor ..................................................................... 439 D. Factors Unrelated to the Motorist's Conduct Influencing Police Discretion ........................ 442 E. Quotas, Shifts, and Dates ............................................. 442 F. Easy Targets and Duck Ponds ................................ 445 V. IMMUTABLE CHARACTERISTICS AND PLACE OF RESIDENCE ........................................................... 446 A . A ge ............................................................................... 446 B . R ace .............................................................................. 447 C . S ex ................................................................................ 44 7 D . Place of Residence ....................................................... 448 E. The Privileged, Non-enforcement and Ticket F ixing ................................................................ 448 V I. D ISCU SSION .......................................................................... 450 V II. C ONCLUSIONS ...................................................................... 452 'The author is currently an assistant professor at Montclair State University in the sociology department. His research addresses numerous areas intersecting law and social science with particular emphasis on traffic enforcement and the Fourth Amendment. The author would like to thank Alisa Smith and G.O.W. Mueller for their comments on earlier drafts of this article. 2Arthur Vanderbilt Traffic Law Enforcement from the Standpoint of the Courts, 4 RUTGERS L. REV. 555, 561 (1950).