United States v. Carter

Summary

The Court denied certiorari without explaining its decision or resolving the merits of the Fourth Amendment question. Justice Alito, joined by Justice Thomas, dissented from the denial. He would have granted review to consider whether a suspect’s race may inform the reasonable-person inquiry used to determine whether a police encounter constitutes a seizure. He questioned the constitutional and practical implications of race-specific standards while acknowledging that the lower court’s approach might have legitimate justifications.