[JURIST] The Arizona Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to hear an appeal which will determine whether state motorists will be allowed to cite racial profiling in defending against criminal prosecutions stemming from traffic stops by police. Judge Janis Sterling of Yavapai County Superior Court ruled last February that the question of whether traffic stops were based on race is irrelevant in criminal cases, and should instead take the form of civil rights claims against the Department of Public Safety. The Department is also currently involved in a federal civil rights suit over racial profiling. The state Supreme Court justices said they would consider only whether alleged racial profiling provides suspects with a possible legal defense or a basis to request exclusion of prosecution evidence that resulted from a stop. AP has more.