Heien v. North Carolina and Significant Interpretive Court Cases: An Empirical Examination of Police Officers’ Perceptions and Knowledge

<p>This empirical study examines legal aspects of policing in relation to the recent, landmark United States Supreme Court case of <em>Heien v. North Carolina</em>. In <em>Heien</em>, the Court found that objectively reasonable mistakes of law by police can support traffic stops. By doing so, it extends the permissible margin of error for stops by law enforcement officers. Due to the potential, far-reaching implications of the <em>Heien</em> decision, including implications for law enforcement and for the Fourth Amendment privacy protections of individuals, it is important to better understand how the lower courts have interpreted and applied <em>Heien</em>. Therefore, key, recent interpretive lower court case law for <em>Heien</em> is also analyzed. Furthermore, it is also important to discover what law enforcement officers know about the <em>Heien</em> decision and how they may be applying it. This study aims to discern the level, degree, and nature of police officers’ knowledge and perceptions of <em>Heien</em>, including officers’ decision-making behavior with respect to <em>Heien</em> and its core concepts. Utilizing a survey questionnaire administered to line officers, this study seeks to shed light on police officers’ knowledge and perceptions of <em>Heien</em>. This is the first known study to empirically examine officers’ knowledge and perceptions of <em>Heien</em>.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology and Criminal Justice

Year dc:date.available

2019

Author dc:creator

• De Leo, Michael

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Christopher Totten
• Dr. Gang Lee
• Dr. Peter Fenton

• Fourth Amendment law
• United States Supreme Court Cases
• Criminal Law
• Police
• Empirical Study
• Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Fourth Amendment

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mscj_etd/9

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu:mscj_etd-1008