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42 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 123 (2009-2010)
Soccer Mom or Drug Trafficker: Why the Consideration of Religious Symbols in an Officer's Reasonable Suspicion Calculus Does Not Offend the First Amendment

handle is hein.journals/text42 and id is 125 raw text is: SOCCER MOM OR DRUG TRAFFICKER?: WHY THE CONSIDERATION OF RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS IN AN OFFICER'S REASONABLE SUSPICION CALCULUS DOES NOT OFFEND THE FIRST AMENDMENT Comment Bradlee H. Thornton 1. RELIGIOUS ICONOGRAPHY SYMBOLIZING CRIMINAL ACTIVITY: AN INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 124 II. THE RISE OF REASONABLE SUSPICION AND ITS ROLE IN DRUG ENFORCEM ENT ................................................................................. 126 A. The Reasonable Suspicion Required for Officers to Conduct a Traff ic Stop ............................................................................ 127 B. The Special List of Factors that Border Patrol Agents Can C onsider ................................................................................... 128 III. A BACKGROUND ON LAW ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES .................. 129 IV. THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND THE PROTECTIONS AFFORDED TO RELIGIOUS ICONOGRAPHY ............................................................... 131 A. Freedom of Religion and Its Many Different Standards .......... 131 B. Symbolic Speech: A Lower Standard When the Government's Goal Is Unrelated to Its Suppression ................ 133 V. THE PLACE OF RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS AND ACTS IN TODAY'S SO C IETY ........................................................................................... 135 A. Traditional Religious Iconography: How the Jesus Fish and Other Symbols Have Made Their Way into M ainstream Use ....................................................................... 135 B. The Sign of the Cross: Its Origins and How It Is Used Today ........................................................................................ 136 C. Jesus Malverde: A Mexican Apostle to Some, the Narco-Saint to Others .......................................................... 138 VI. How THE VARIOUS COURTS HAVE EXAMINED THE ISSUE ............. 141 A. The Tenth Circuit Completely Misses the Issue and Adopts a Policy of Disallowance with No Consideration of Possible Validity ...................................................................... 141 B. A Court in the Eighth Circuit Allows the Practice with No Checks W hatsoever .................................................................. 143