Pubdate: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Copyright: 2000 The Orange County Register Contact: P.O. Box 11626, Santa Ana, CA 92711 Fax: (714) 565-3657 Website: http://www.ocregister.com/ Section: News,page 4 Author: James Sterngold, The New York Times ETHNIC PROFILING RULED INVALID LOS ANGELES - In a potentially far-reaching decision contradicting a 25-year-old Supreme Court opinion, a federal appeals court has ruled that in most circumstances, law-enforcement officials cannot rely on ethnic appearance as a factor in deciding whether to stop someone suspected of a crime. In a strongly worded decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared Tuesday that because of the growth in the Hispanic population in the region, ethnicity was an irrelevant criterion for law officers to stop a person, without other specific information identifying the suspect. The case involved three Mexicans who were stopped about 115 miles east of San Diego, by U.S. Border Patrol officers acting on a tip in 1996. The three were found to have marijuana, a handgun and ammunition. They were convicted of various drug and weapons charges, and have been deported. The Border Patrol had cited five factors in the decision to stop the three, including a U-turn just before reaching an immigration checkpoint. In their appeal, the men argued that when the officers relied on their ethnic appearance, they violated their Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. In a 7-4 vote, the court up-held an earlier decision that the Border Patrol was justified in making the stop. The opinion contradicted a Supreme Court ruling that said it was generally justifiable to use racial appearance as one such factor. The appeals-court majority said it was diverging from that earlier opinion because the huge increases in the Hispanic population in the border region required a change in the way the law was applied. But the judges added, "We conclude that, at this point in our nation's history, and given the continuing changes in our ethnic and racial composition, Hispanic appearance is, in general, of such little probative value that it may not be considered as a relevant factor where particularized or individualized suspicion is required." - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea