Alito and Thomas dissent in case involving race and law enforcement

Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented Monday from the court’s refusal to consider a case involving race and law enforcement.

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The court’s senior GOP appointees wanted their colleagues to review the petition brought by the federal government, which raised questions about the relevance of race in analyzing whether Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures are violated.

It takes four justices to grant review. The denial appeared on the court’s order list, in which the justices announce the latest action in pending appeals. As usual, the court did not explain why it denied review.

The government’s petition came in the case of Donte Carter. He was charged with gun and theft offenses in Washington, D.C., and he moved to suppress the stolen firearm that law enforcement recovered from him after an officer asked him to hike his pants. He argued that he was technically “seized” under the Fourth Amendment at that point and that the officer lacked reasonable suspicion or probable cause.