DUI Sobriety Checkpoints: Are they Unconstitutional? »

July 30, 2009

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It is clearly said by the Constitution of the United States that the police can not just stop someone and they are not allowed to conduct an investigation unless there are “articulable facts” that are indicating possible criminal activity.

So here there is a question that how can they do exactly that with DUI roadblocks? so it is a good question. And this question was raised in the case of Michigan v. Sitz (496 U.S. 444), in which a decision of the Michigan Supreme Court striking down drunk driving roadblocks as unconstitutional had been reviewed by The U.S. Supreme Court. In a 6-3 decision, the Michigan court was reversed by the Court, holding that roadblocks were consitutionally permissible. Chief Justice Rehnquist started his majority opinion by accepting that DUI roadblocks i.e. “sobriety checkpoints” do, in reality, constitute a “seizure” which is within the language of the 4th Amendment. Explaining this in other words, yes, it’s an intentional violation of the Constitution.

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