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Adams v. Williams

Impact



In a limited sense, the Court's decision was significant in granting police additional powers to stop and frisk suspects. More importantly, however, the Adams decision was the first step in a series of decisions in which the Court has continued to expand the situations in which police officers may conduct searches without first obtaining a search warrant. In the years since the Adams decision, the Court has extended Terry to allow police to stop a person based only on reasonable suspicion in order to fingerprint the person, to determine whether that person is wanted for another crime, or to detain the person for a reasonable time while further investigation is conducted. Thus, Adams signaled a drastic step in the interpretation of the Fourth Amendment.



Additional topics

Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1963 to 1972Adams v. Williams - Significance, Protective Searches For Weapons Are Permissible, A Dangerous Extension Of Terry, Impact