The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that police roadblocks set up to nab drug offenders violate constitutional Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure.
Between August and November of 1998, Indianapolis police set up six separate roadblocks where 1,100 vehicles were stopped, and 104 motorists were arrested, half for drug offenses. The roadblocks entailed police officers checking licenses and registrations and determining if the driver was impaired by alcohol or drugs. During the inspection, a drug-sniffing dog walked around the automobile to check for drugs.
In penning the Court’s opinion, Sandra Day O’Connor wrote “We decline to suspend the usual requirement of individualized suspicion where the police seek to employ a checkpoint primarily for the ordinary enterprise of investigating crimes. We cannot sanction stops justified only by the generalized and ever-present possibility that interrogation and inspection may reveal that any given motorist has committed some crime”
O’Connor continued, “Petitioners argue that the Indianapolis checkpoint program is justified by its lawful secondary purposes of keeping impaired motorists off the road and verifying licenses and registrations. If this were the case, however, law enforcement authorities would be able to establish checkpoints for virtually any purpose so long as they also included a license or sobriety check.”
“It appears the Fourth Amendment is alive and well, despite the ‘war on drugs,'” said Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director. “For once, the Court has determined there are limits to the power of the police to search individuals without a warrant.”
For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director at (202) 483-5500.
