Great American Court Cases | Florida v. Bostick

Legal Citation: 501 U.S. 429 (1991)

Petitioner
State of Florida

Respondent
Terrance Bostick

Petitioner's Claim
Random police searches of the effects of consenting passengers are not per se unconstitutional.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Joan Fowler, Assistant Attorney General of Florida

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Donald B. Ayer

Justices for the Court
Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, David H. Souter, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting
Harry A. Blackmun, Thurgood Marshall, John Paul Stevens

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
20 June 1991

Decision
Police sweeps of buses and their passengers are not necessarily unconstitutional.

Significance
The Bostick...