Opinion ID: 2041031
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Brown v. Texas 443 U.S. 47, 99 S.Ct. 2637, 61 L.Ed.2d 357 (1979).

Text: Police on patrol noticed appellant walking in an alley located in an area with a high incidence of drug traffic. They stopped him and asked that he provide identification and explain what he was doing. The Court found that [i]n the absence of any basis for suspecting appellant of misconduct, the balance between the public interest, and appellant's right to personal security and privacy tilts in favor of freedom from police interference. 443 U.S. at 52, 99 S.Ct. at 2641. The Court noted that the State's interest, the prevention of crime, was a weighty social objective, but, even assuming that purpose is served to some degree by stopping and demanding identification from an individual without any specific basis for believing he is involved in criminal activity, the guarantees of the Fourth Amendment do not allow it. Id.