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The courts have done a lot to shit on the Fourth through Sixth amendments. There are quite a few cases out there where cops have been cleared of all charges on unconstitutional arrests and evidence from unconstitutional seizures has not been suppressed. It's surprisingly difficult to get the 4th amendment to work the way that you'd think it ought to, archaic grammar notwithstanding.
I have little interest in criminal law, but the crim pro class I took in law school was one of the most eye-opening and terrifying.
Responding to the OP, I think we have a bad mix of poor reporting and bad choices all around. I'm sure race played a part in the final outcome, but I don't think it played so disproportionate a role as to make this some sort of issue that we should care about more than we would otherwise. For better or worse, the human brain works and learns by grouping things and we base our responses on our previous experiences. Race is a taboo grouping, but that doesn't stop the brain from doing it anyway.
Not that I'm sure white people don't break into houses in Boston...
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