Whren v. United States - Lower Court Rulings

The district court refused to grant the petitioners' motion for suppression of evidence, and Whren and Brown were convicted of the drug charges brought against them. They then appealed their case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The appeals court affirmed their convictions, stating that "regardless of whether a police officer subjectively believes that the occupants of an automobile may be engaging in some other illegal behavior, a traffic stop is permissible as long as a reasonable officer in the same circumstances would have stopped the car for the suspected traffic violation." Whren and Brown then appealed their case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard arguments in the matter on 17 April 1996.