Cite as: 532 U. S. 318 (2001)
O'Connor, J., dissenting
misdemeanor arrests were not the subject of a clear and consistently applied rule at common law. See, e. g., ante, at 332 (finding "disagreement, not unanimity, among both the common-law jurists and the text writers"); ante, at 335 (acknowledging that certain early English statutes serve only to "riddle Atwater's supposed common-law rule with enough exceptions to unsettle any contention [that there was a clear common-law rule barring warrantless arrests for misdemeanors that were not breaches of the peace]"). We therefore must engage in the balancing test required by the Fourth Amendment. See Wyoming v. Houghton, supra, at 299-300. While probable cause is surely a necessary condition for warrantless arrests for fine-only offenses, see Dunaway v. New York, supra, at 213-214, any realistic assessment of the interests implicated by such arrests demonstrates that probable cause alone is not a sufficient condition. See infra, at 364-366.
Our decision in Whren v. United States, 517 U. S. 806 (1996), is not to the contrary. The specific question presented there was whether, in evaluating the Fourth Amendment reasonableness of a traffic stop, the subjective intent of the police officer is a relevant consideration. Id., at 808, 814. We held that it is not, and stated that "[t]he making of a traffic stop . . . is governed by the usual rule that probable cause to believe the law has been broken 'outbalances' private interest in avoiding police contact." Id., at 818.
We of course did not have occasion in Whren to consider the constitutional preconditions for warrantless arrests for fine-only offenses. Nor should our words be taken beyond their context. There are significant qualitative differences between a traffic stop and a full custodial arrest. While both are seizures that fall within the ambit of the Fourth Amendment, the latter entails a much greater intrusion on an individual's liberty and privacy interests. As we have said, "[a] motorist's expectations, when he sees a policeman's light flashing behind him, are that he will be obliged to spend
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