| As many people know, the Fourth Amendment of the | | | | important. |
| Constitution of the United States forbids the | | | | To some, it seems that the Court has simply carved |
| unreasonable search or seizure of U.S. citizens. | | | | out of the Constitution another exception, similar to the |
| Generally, there must be probable cause to arrest or | | | | one for exigent circumstances, for sobriety |
| search persons or their private property, which means | | | | checkpoints. DUI defense attorneys often refer to this |
| that the officer must have a reasonable suspicion | | | | as "the DUI exception to the Constitution." Critics and |
| based on articulable facts that some wrongdoing has | | | | dissenting justices have pointed out that the Fourth |
| occurred. How, then, are law enforcement agents able, | | | | Amendment does not make exceptions. The only |
| constitutionally, to stop motorists at sobriety | | | | question is whether the officer has probable cause to |
| checkpoints? | | | | stop the individual driver. Justice Brennan wrote, "That |
| According to constitutional law, some stops are not | | | | stopping every car might make it easier to prevent |
| considered seizures of a person. This is the case with | | | | drunken driving...is an insufficient justification for |
| a so called "stop and frisk" in which an officer detains | | | | abandoning the requirement of individualized suspicion." |
| a person for a very brief period of time and quickly | | | | The Court's justification for the exception rested on |
| checks their outer clothing for contraband. Sometimes, | | | | the assumption that DUI roadblocks are necessary |
| if a person is detained for less than 48 hours, it is not | | | | and effective. However, there is some controversy as |
| considered a seizure. However, this is not true for DUI | | | | to whether this is true. The National Highway Traffic |
| roadblocks. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that | | | | and Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released |
| stopping someone at such a roadblock does constitute | | | | data on alcohol-related deaths in 2003 and 2004. |
| a seizure of that person under the Fourth Amendment. | | | | There was a decline in such fatalities in 2004, and |
| One "however" further and the language of the | | | | most of the drop occurred in states that don't use |
| Constitution gets tangled up in the thicket of | | | | sobriety checkpoints. Critics already concerned about |
| constitutional interpretation and case law. The | | | | the large outlay of resources required to operate |
| Supreme Court could have claimed that these stops | | | | checkpoints are doubly concerned if spending the |
| without probable cause are constitutional under the | | | | resources does not even necessarily prevent DUI |
| doctrine of exigent circumstances. The Court has | | | | offenses. |
| repeatedly held that when an officer believes evidence | | | | On the other hand, law enforcement agents believe |
| is about to be destroyed, he can perform a search | | | | that checkpoints are effective even if intoxicated |
| without a warrant. However, this doctrine seems only | | | | drivers get around them because they spread the |
| to apply to searches. Instead, it appears as though the | | | | message that driving under the influence is not |
| Court used a balancing test, common in other areas of | | | | tolerated. Officers often provide informational |
| constitutional law, whereby the "minimal intrusion on | | | | pamphlets to motorists stopped at checkpoints, |
| individual liberties" was weighed against the need for | | | | explaining the consequences of drunk driving, which |
| and efficacy of roadblocks and found to be less | | | | may have a deterrent effect. |