In the case of Hunter v. Dean, Sheriff in 1978, the United States Supreme Court addressed a dispute over whether a sheriff could be held liable for failing to prevent an inmate's suicide while in jail. The plaintiff was the mother of an inmate who committed suicide while under custody and she argued that her son’s constitutional rights were violated because he did not receive adequate medical attention for his mental health issues which led to his death by suicide. However, the court ruled against her claim stating that there was no deliberate indifference on part of prison officials towards her son's serious medical needs as required by Estelle v. Gamble (1976) precedent to establish violation of Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

In the dissenting opinion for Hunter v. Dean, Sheriff, 1978 case, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a Virginia law allowing police officers to stop and frisk individuals without probable cause contradicted previous Supreme Court rulings on Fourth Amendment rights. The dissenting justices believed that this ruling gave too much power to law enforcement officials and could lead to abuses of authority. They also expressed concern about potential racial profiling and other discriminatory practices resulting from such broad powers being granted to police officers. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's interpretation of Terry v. Ohio (1968), arguing that this precedent did not justify stops based on mere suspicion rather than concrete evidence of criminal activity.