Ariz. Supreme Court agrees to hear racial profiling case
/- Can Racial Profiling be used as a defense in criminal trials?
The Arizona Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to rule on
whether motorists can use claims of racial profiling as a defense in
criminal trials stemming from traffic stops by police. The Supreme
Court said it will hear arguments on an appeal filed by motorists
charged in Yavapai County after being stopped by state Department of
Public Safety officers. Judge Janis Sterling of Yavapai County Superior
Court had ruled Feb. 13 that whether DPS officers made traffic stops
based on race is irrelevant in criminal cases. Sterling's ruling said
allegations of racial profiling are not a defense to criminal conduct
and are instead civil rights claims that can best be addressed by a
lawsuit against the DPS. The Supreme Court's decision to hear the case
comes as lawyers for the DPS and motorists work on terms to settle a
federal civil-rights lawsuit. Also, the state Court of Appeals is
weighing a related case on alleged racial profiling by DPS officers in
Coconino County. [more]
