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Abstract

The plethora of law review articles and cases on search and seizure demonstrates the confusion and frustration in fourth amendment stop-and-frisk jurisprudence. The fourth amendment to the Constitution guarantees that persons will be free of "unreasonable searches and seizures . . . and no Warrants shall issue but upon probable cause." A "stop-and-frisk" is a warrantless detention and search of a person by a police officer to investigate for unlawfulness. Although the United States Supreme Court has issued many investigative stop decisions, the Court has failed to promulgate a coherent and practical stop-and-frisk procedure for law enforcement personnel to follow. In short, "[t]he Fourth Amendment cases are a mess."

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