New York's stop-and-frisk policy is unconstitutional, judge rules

Judge Shira Scheindlin says policy violates individuals' right to protection and orders appointment of independent monitor The verdict follows a two-and-a-half month trial resulting from a federal class action lawsuit filed by four African American men in 2008. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images A New York judge ruled Monday that "stop-and-frisk" searches carried out by city police are unconstitutional – and ordered that a federal monitor be brought in to oversee their reform. In a major victory for civil rights activists who have long contended that stop-and-frisk amounts to racial profiling, US district court judge Shira Scheindlin said the stops violated individuals' right to privacy and...