Michigan DUI Lawyers

Conyers' Racial Profiling Bill Unanimously Passes Judiciary Committee

Today the House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed legislation aimed at combating racial profiling sponsored by Representative John Conyers, Jr., the Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. Commonly known as the "Driving While Black" bill, H.R. 1443, "The Traffic Stops Statistics Study Act of 1999," requires the Justice Department to conduct a nationwide study of racial profiling by acquiring data from law enforcement agencies regarding the characteristics of persons stopped for alleged traffic violations and the rationale for subsequent searches. The legislation now moves forward for consideration by the full House for passage.

Commenting on the practice of racial profiling, Conyers stated that "Race-based traffic stops turn driving, one of our most ordinary and fundamentally American activities, into an experience fraught with danger and risk for people of color. The offense of "D.W.B." or "driving while black and brown" is well-known to African-Americans and Latinos across the country. There are virtually no African-American males -- including Congressmen, actors, athletes and office workers -- who have not been stopped for a pretextual traffic violation. Because traffic stops can happen anywhere and anytime, millions of African-Americans and Latinos alter their driving habits in ways that would never occur to most white Americans."

Conyers noted that, "While the catch phrase "driving while black" captures the perception of the minority community, the definition and legal implications of racial profiling defy such simplification. The most sound definition of racial profiling embraces the widespread police practice of using race as a factor in deciding whom to target for law enforcement. Properly understood, racial profiling occurs whenever police routinely use race as a negative signal that, along with an accumulation of other signals, causes an officer to react with suspicion."

Concerning the prevalence of the practice, Conyers stated that "Media coverage of the phenomenon of racial profiling has produced an abundance of anecdotal evidence concerning abusive practices. In addition, statistical evidence gathered in the course of litigation shows a clear pattern of racially discriminatory traffic stops and searches. Although African-Americans make up only 14% of the population nationwide, they account for 72% of all routine traffic stops. Latinos are similarly targeted for a disproportionate law enforcement focus. One ACLU analysis indicated that Latinos comprised approximately 30 percent of the motorists stopped by one state's police drug interdiction officers, even though they only accounted for eight percent of the personal vehicle trips."

Conyers noted that "These dramatic statistics have formed the basis for legal findings against the practice of racial profiling across the nation. Most recently, New Jersey settled the first ever racial profiling case brought by the Justice Department under 42 U.S.C.A. 14141. The consent decree in that case appoints an independent monitor, requires the state to collect traffic stop data and to create new citizen complaint, training and early warning procedures for the state police."

Conyers concluded, "Widespread racial profiling practices deeply undermine the legitimacy and effectiveness of the criminal justice system, making police work much more difficult and dangerous. While this legislation does not regulate traffic stops, H.R. 1443 does require the gathering of solid, comprehensive information, so that discussion of racial profiling might move beyond the question of whether or not the problem exists, to the question of how to find a solution."

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