Supreme Court Justices Dissent on Police Racial Profiling Case

On June 22, 2026, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the Supreme Court's decision not to hear the case U.S. v. Donte J. Carter. They argued that the ruling from the D.C. Court of Appeals requires police to apply different standards based on race, which they believe contradicts the principle of equal treatment under the law. Alito stated that it is problematic to treat individuals differently based on statistical assumptions about their racial or ethnic group. The case involved a Black man, Carter, whose firearm and theft convictions were vacated after the court found that police had seized him without reasonable suspicion. The D.C. court noted that Black Americans may be less likely to feel free to terminate police encounters due to distrust of law enforcement. Alito expressed concern that this ruling could lead to law enforcement needing to assess a person's race in their interactions, which he argued is contrary to constitutional principles that advocate for color-blind governance. The dissent highlights the complexities of applying race in law enforcement and the implications for police practices.