Delaware v. Prouse

Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (1979), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that police may not stop motorists without any reasonable suspicion to suspect crime or illegal activity to check their driver's license and auto registration.^[1][2]

Delaware v. Prouse
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 17, 1979 Decided March 27, 1979
Full case name	Delaware v. Prouse
Citations	440 U.S. 648 (more) 99 S. Ct. 1391; 59 L. Ed. 2d 660
Case history
Prior	State v. Prouse, 382 A.2d 1359 (Del. 1978); cert. granted, 439 U.S. 816 (1978).
Holding
Unless there is at least articulable and reasonable suspicion that a motorist is unlicensed, an automobile is not registered, or that either the vehicle or an occupant is otherwise subject to seizure for violation of law, stopping an automobile and detaining the driver to check his driver's license and the registration of the automobile are unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Thurgood Marshall Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr. William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
Majority	White, joined by Burger, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens
Concurrence	Blackmun, joined by Powell
Dissent	Rehnquist
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. IV

References

1. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (1979).
2. Lively, DE; Weaver, RL (2006). Contemporary Supreme Court Cases: Landmark Decisions Since Roe V. Wade. US: Greenwood Publishing Group.

External links

• Text of Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (1979) is available from: Cornell  Google Scholar  Justia  Library of Congress  Oyez (oral argument audio)