> Or do the people being stopped never actually fight any charges being brought against them (understandable, given whom the PD targets)?
For those who aren't found to be in possession of drugs (the main excuse here), that's exactly the problem. For the rest:
> If that is the case, how can anything found in those frisks be admitted as evidence in court?
They're only legal if the police have reasonable suspicion[1] of illegal weapons. Not drugs. Not prostitution[2]. Just weapons.
Of course, given the neighborhoods they target, it's easy for them to fabricate an excuse after-the-fact. So most people don't bother to challenge it, because they know it's, at best, a case of one person's word against the other.
[1] It may be probable cause instead; I'm fuzzy on the details, but I know the general idea is correct.
[2] In New York, having many condoms in your possession is evidence enough to charge you with prostitution.
For those who aren't found to be in possession of drugs (the main excuse here), that's exactly the problem. For the rest:
> If that is the case, how can anything found in those frisks be admitted as evidence in court?
They're only legal if the police have reasonable suspicion[1] of illegal weapons. Not drugs. Not prostitution[2]. Just weapons.
Of course, given the neighborhoods they target, it's easy for them to fabricate an excuse after-the-fact. So most people don't bother to challenge it, because they know it's, at best, a case of one person's word against the other.
[1] It may be probable cause instead; I'm fuzzy on the details, but I know the general idea is correct.
[2] In New York, having many condoms in your possession is evidence enough to charge you with prostitution.