Professional Police Traffic Stops
While the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees that individuals have the right to be free from undue searches and seizures, the U.S. Supreme Court has stated that police actually have the right to conduct traffic stops and checks, such as DUI checkpoints. The case of Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz (1990) held that "petitioners' highway sobriety checkpoint program is consistent with the Fourth Amendment" based on precedent cases such as United States v. Martinez-Fuerte and Brown v. Texas, in which it was constitutionally upheld that police had the right to stop and conduct searches so long as the intrusion was not excessive and the search deemed reasonable based on attenuating factors.
For a checkpoint search to be reasonable there has to be probable cause: thus, police will conduct a balancing test to gauge the driver's sobriety before conducting a search. (If the driver fails the sobriety test it is deemed that a search is warranted). However, the seizure part of the checkpoint has raised eyebrows, as this is completely random and every car is made to stop in order to accommodate the police officers' wishes.
While some have argued that this constitutes...
of State Police v. Sitz (1990) has decided that a state has a duty to protect its streets and guarantee the safety of its citizens and if setting up a dragnet to conduct checkpoints facilitates this end, then it is not a violation of the U.S. Constitution. Essentially, it is a matter of state authority overriding personal authority because of the good reason of protecting the public that is at the heart of the operation, according to the decision of this case.
The key elements that establish a traffic stop as legally defensible and professional are that it must be minimally intrusive, the location for the checkpoint must be chosen based on data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (which issues guidelines on how to conduct stops and checks), the operation of the checkpoint must follow the guidelines of the Traffic Safety division and the checkpoint should be publicized.
The case of Ingersoll v. Palmer (1987) as decided by the California Supreme Court as put out a number of points that can be followed in order to ensure that a check is conducted legally and professionally…
