The Statistical Evidence of Racial Profiling in Traffic Stops and Searches: Rethinking the Use of Statistics to Prove Discriminatory Intent

Abstract

This Note summarizes and synthesizes developments in statistical analyses of racial profiling data and the legal response to the use of such methods in civil rights cases. Researchers have developed new strategies specifically designed to measure statistical associations between a driver's race and the frequency of vehicle stops and searches. Courts' responses to the use of the statistical evidence derived from these methods are varied. This Note argues that modern developments in data collection and statistical methodology to detect racial profiling support a legal rule that strong statistical associations in well-developed studies should constituteprima facie evidence sufficient to prove discriminatory intent.