Checkpoints Okay for Drunks, Not Drugs
The Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that police can continue to use checkpoint roadblocks to prevent drunk driving, but cannot search for illegal drugs without first having a "reasonable suspicion."The difference between the two, the court said, was that DUI roadblocks would prevent "an imminent public danger" while drug searches would only serve to aid in police investigations.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1990 that roadblocks to find intoxicated drivers are constitutional, and many states, including Massachusetts, continue to use them.
Severe Threat to Society?
The Massachusetts case stems from a roadblock set up in a high-crime area of Holyoke in November 1997. Police stopped 58 cars in two hours and arrested only one man who was found with two half-smoked cigars laced with marijuana.Meanwhile, officials in Indianapolis are taking the very same issue to the U.S. Supreme Court. Their argument is that the drug problem has become as severe and immediate a threat as drunken driving.
But the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago rejected that opinion last July, when it ruled against Indianapolis, saying the roadblocks for drug searches were unconstitutional.
Purpose of the Search
"The issue is not the magnitude of the problem, the issue is what is the purpose of the search?" said Kenneth J. Falk, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which first brought the lawsuit. "When the purpose of the search is to root out crime, there has to be some type of cause to justify the initial stop."The U.S. Supreme Court should announce sometime in February if it will hear the Indianapolis case. The court may be forced to act, because varous appeals courts already have ruled on both sides of the issue.
Federal appeals courts in Chicago and Cincinnati have ruled against drug checkpoints, but a court in St. Louis has allowed them. Missouri police say they will continue what they consider to be a useful crime-fighting tool.
The fact that roadblocks are still allowed for drunk drivers, but not for drug dealers, continues to emphasize the magnitude of public safety issue that driving under the influence has become.
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