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Supreme Court's Refusal to Hear Carter Case Leaves Race-Based Seizure Standard in Place, Alito and Thomas Warn

6/22/2026

The Supreme Court declined to take up United States v. Carter, a Fourth Amendment case that prompted a rare written dissent from Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas over the high court's inaction.

The two justices argued that the lower court ruling the Court left standing effectively requires police officers to apply different legal standards depending on a suspect's race — a practice they said conflicts with decades of constitutional precedent.

Court of Appeals Decided The case originated when the D.C. Court of Appeals vacated the firearm and theft convictions of Donte J.

Carter, a Black man, on the grounds that police had seized him before establishing reasonable suspicion.