St. Patfrisk—the Patron Saint of Boston Irish Cops?

I just came across the term "patfrisk," which seems to be almost exclusively a Massachusettsism, though the "pat frisk" (or "pat-frisk") version also appears with some frequency in New York and Minnesota.  The first reference to "patfrisk" is in 1995 and to "pat frisk" in 1969, but without any self-consciousness, so it makes me think that it had been in the air before.

Patfrisk appears to be defined as a "carefully limited search of the outer clothing of [a] person[] … to discover weapons" (authorized by the Court in Terry v. Ohio). The term is likely a frisk × patdown portmanteau, but it's not clear to me how it differs from just a frisk. I crave enlightenment, if there is some subtle distinction.

Comments

[NoVaNick]

Wonder if the Pat in patfrisk has the same origin as paddy wagon, which I was told, referred to its use in hauling Irish drunks to jail in NYC. Would make sense if the term originated in Boston too

[Noscitur a sociis]

Seems pretty obvious that it comes from the word “pat”.

[Bill Poser]

It could come both from the verb “pat” and the name “Pat(rick)”.

[Hendo]

It’s interesting that this term seems to have emerged in the wake of Terry v. Ohio.

As far as I can tell from a newspaper database search, the term “pat-down,” as applied to law enforcement, only really starts to appear in newspaper stories in the middle of the 1960s. Before that, almost all references were either search misidentifications of “put-down,” or references to cooking (apparently “patdown pastry” was a thing).

The Supreme Court gave the terms “pat-down” and “patted down” national standing in the Terry case, and I’ll bet that cops and journalists, especially, were aware of it. My guess is that “frisk” had been a relatively common or standard term among police and reporters and the public, and after the Terry decision the portmanteau was adopted in some areas.

Did you see the Shreveport (Louisiana) Journal, from September 22, 1971?

It actually reproduces a judge’s opinion from a court case, in which the judge threw out Shreveport’s “ordinance governing permits for rallies and parties in public parks.” The suit was apparently filed on behalf of “long-haired youth groups.” The newspaper doesn’t actually give the name of the case, but the judge’s order was apparently issued on September 20 by Chief Judge Ben C. Hawkins, Jr.

The relevant text says:

“Clearly the facts surrounding the Columbia Park ‘raid’ could not provide the police probably cause to arrest those for whom they had no warrants; although in light of the reliable intelligence information possessed by them, the facts were such that a self-protective pat-frisk could be constitutionally tolerated. Terry v. Ohio…”

[Jimmy the Dane]

Pro tip: State court decisions on a variety of subjects exist long before they wind up in federal court or ever get reviewed by the Supreme Court. Try doing a comprehensive MA court search and your question will be answered.

[Noscitur a sociis]

Thank you! I’m sure this brilliantly original idea never occurred to Prof. Volokh.

[Jimmy the Dane]

It wasn’t a Eugene post, but apparently the idea never fell upon another contributor who had never read the state Supreme Court decision leading up to Jacobson v. Massachusetts. So would not surprise me if he hadn’t expanded his search into the state courts.

(Maybe the practice is outdated, but before we would ever discuss a United States Supreme Court decision we would always at least read immediate decision prior to the case that went up on appeal, if not every decision below.)

[Eugene Volokh]

Indeed, this whole post is based on searches through state cases, and the quoted definition is from a state case. But my Massachusetts search didn’t reveal the answer to the question on which I “crave enlightenment,” which is whether there is some subtle difference between a patfrisk and a frisk, and, if there isn’t, why the patfrisk term emerged.

[Jimmy the Dane]

Maybe they don’t show up in electronic searches. Years ago I was doing some researching using microfilm and remember running across the term in minute orders mostly in trial courts (maybe minute order type documents). It seemed to be common vernacular because simply saying “pat” or “frisk” was not enough. Maybe it is sort of like down south if you order a Pepsi it will be referred to as a “Pepsi Coke” with “coke” being the generic term for soda. This was not an official linguist interpretation but what I understood it to be. Reasonable minds may differ.

[tkamenick]

Is a “pat” and a “frisk” the same thing? I would think so, and therefore I wonder if “pat and frisk” would be a… what was that weird word. Hendiadys? *Looks it up*. Dang, I nailed it first try!

[Jimmy the Dane]

If you can find an old Irish cop (they are still around in NYC and Boston), ask them the difference between a “pat” and “frisk.” One practice was more aggressive then the other and also reserved for a certain kind of person being investigated.

[MaverickNH]

Having thrived in Southie (South Boston, where Whitey Bulger was King) for a long while, I’ll observe that cops, lawyers, politicians, prosecutors, firemen and judges grow up with one another, play golf together, attend wakes and weddings together, go to the same gyms, etc. A Pat-Frisk is a Boston Hug, just to make sure your friends and extended family are not carrying or wearing a wire – the former being as obvious as ever but the latter no longer useful – electronics has gotten way to small.