What was determined in Whren v. U.S. (1996) regarding traffic stops?

In Whren v. U.S. (1996), the Supreme Court addressed the legality of pretextual traffic stops. The Court ruled that as long as an officer has probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred, the stop is justified, regardless of the officer's underlying motivations or subjective intentions. This affirmed that law enforcement officers may use traffic violations as a legitimate basis to conduct a stop, even if the primary intent is to investigate other criminal activity.

This ruling is significant because it highlights that the legality of a traffic stop hinges on the existence of a legitimate traffic violation, effectively legitimizing pretextual stops in law enforcement. The ruling does not support the notion that racial profiling is inherently unconstitutional; rather, it established that as long as legal grounds for a stop are present, questions about officers' motivations for initiating a stop do not impact its legality. Motorists retain some rights to question police authority, particularly regarding the nature of the stop and the treatment they receive during an interaction, but this is separate from the foundational legal standards established in the Whren decision.