Overview

• Justice Brett Kavanaugh, concurring, endorsed a ‘totality of the circumstances’ standard in which apparent ethnicity cannot alone justify a stop but may be a relevant factor, while the three liberal justices dissented.
• U.S. District Judge Maame Frimpong’s July 11 order barred stops based solely on race, language, location or type of work, and the Ninth Circuit refused to lift it on Aug. 1 before the Supreme Court intervened.
• The Department of Homeland Security vowed to “FLOOD THE ZONE” in Los Angeles following the ruling, as a class-action suit by Latinos, including U.S. citizens, proceeds with a hearing scheduled for Sept. 24.
• The stay applies to seven Southern California counties, and a similar injunction in the state’s Eastern District remains in effect, leaving the broader scope uncertain.
• In a related dispute, a federal judge on Sept. 2 ruled the use of National Guard troops and Marines in Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act, highlighting ongoing federal–state legal clashes.