NCJ Number
148107
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 31 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1994) Pages: 215-257
Date Published
1994
Length
43 pages
Annotation
This article considers the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a case involving a roadblock for suspicionless seizures designed to enforce criminal laws.
Abstract
The litigation in Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz concerned a sobriety checkpoint program established by the Michigan Department of State Police. The roadblock lasted just over an hour and resulted in two arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol. In 1990, the Supreme Court approved this effort--the first time it had approved a criminal seizure of individuals not suspected of wrongdoing. However, the malleability of the Court's approach in Sitz places no clear limits on governmental action and makes imperative the articulation of a definitive delineation of the scope of suspicionless seizures. This analysis concludes that the degree of intrusion of a search should be the sole trigger for the Court's balancing analysis and that a narrow, de minimis intrusion should be the appropriate test for suspicionless searches and seizures designed to enforce the criminal law. Footnotes