Page 8A
NATION
Wednesday, No'r
Isday. Nov
THE BATTALION
Court finds roadblocks unconstitutional
News in Br
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a significant rul
ing on the use of police power, the Supreme
Court struck down random roadblocks intended
for drug searches, saying they tire an unreason
able invasion of privacy under the Constitution.
Law enforcement in and of itself is not a
good enough reason to stop innocent motorists,
the majority concluded Tuesday in the first ma
jor ruling of the new term.
“Because the checkpoint program’s prima
ry purpose is indistinguishable from the gener
al interest in crime control, the checkpoints
contravened the Fourth Amendment,” which
protects against unreasonable searches and
seizures, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote.
The court’s three most conservative jus
tices dissented, saying the roadblocks Indi
anapolis set up in high-crime neighborhoods
served valuable public safety and crime-fight
ing goals. Chief Justice William Rehnquist
and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence
Thomas dissented.
“Efforts to enforce the law on public high
ways used by millions of motorists are obvi
ously necessary to our society,” Rehnquist
wrote. “The court’s opinion today casts a shad
ow over what has been assumed ... to be a per
fectly lawful activity.”
Thomas joined the entire nine-page dissent.
Scalia agreed with Rehnquist only in part.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, like O’Connor a
sometime “swing vote” between the court’s ide
ological poles, sided with her in the majority.
The American Civil Liberties Union had
sued on behalf of two detained motorists, and
the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chica
go eventually found the practice was probably
unconstitutional.
“Today’s decision sends a clear message that
even a conservative court is not willing to coun
tenance the serious erosion of our basic consti
tutional rights,”
Because the checkpoint
said Steven
Shapiro, ACLU’s
legal director.
O'Connor
stressed that the
high court ruling
does not affect
other police road
blocks such as
border checks and
drunken-driving
checkpoints,
which have al
ready been found
constitutional.
The reasoning
behind those kinds
of roadblocks —
66;
el of generality, there would be little check on
the authorities’ ability to construct roadblocks
for almost any conceivable law enforcement
purpose,” the opinion said.
During oral arguments in October, several
justices seemed troubled by the notion that by
unwittingly driving into the checkpoint, a mo
torist is open to a criminal investigation that pre
sumably would not have happened otherwise.
Others ques-
program s primary purpose
is indistinguishable from
the general interest in
crime control, the check
points contravened the
Fourth Amendment.”
— Sandra Day O'Connor
U.S. Supreme Court justice
chiefly that the benefit to the public outweighs
the inconvenience — cannot be applied broad
ly, O’Connor wrote.
“If this case were to rest on such a high lev-
tioned whether the
use of drug-sniffing
dogs was heavy-
handed. The dogs
were led around the
car’s exterior at
every stop.
The case is one
of several the court
has taken recently
that examine the
limits of police
powers to hunt for
drugs.
The court heard
arguments in the
case of a man de
tained by police
outside his home for about two hours while of
ficers got a search warrant for drugs. In that
case, justices seemed to indicate by their ques
tions that they saw little wrong with the police
approach.
The justices will also consider a case in
volving a man arrested for growing marijuana
after police outside the home monitored heat
generated by grow lamps in his garage.
In 1999, the court ruled that immigration of
ficials violated bus passengers’ privacy rights
by squeezing the luggage in overhead racks in
a search for drugs.
In the Indianapolis case, lawyers for the city
said catching drug criminals was the primary
aim of the roadblocks set up in the summer of
1998. The city conceded the roadblocks de
tained far more innocent motorists than crimi
nals but contended the checks were a quick and
efficient way to hunt for illegal drugs and that
the severity of the drug problem in some areas
justified the searches.
While agreeing that society would no doubt
be safer without illegal drugs, O’Connor said
“the gravity of the threat alone" cannot deter
mine whether the program was constitutional.
Similarly, the majority rejected the idea that
the checkpoints could also help catch drunks and
drivers without valid licenses or registrations.
Under that justification. O’Connor wrote,
“authorities would be able to establish check
points for virtually any purpose so long as they
also included a license or sobriety check.”
The city conducted six roadblocks over four
months in 1998 before the practice was chal
lenged in federal court.
Downey Jr.
on “McBeal’
LOS ANGELES (AP)-
Downey Jr. was back on
McBeal” set Tuesdaywit|
ble drug charges
ter a weekend arrest i
solved to keep fightings
his publicist said.
‘‘He’s concentrating!*
and himself,” said
Alan Nierob. “He’s a f
addict. Recovering,
relapses. He’s working
his sobriety as he
last 18 months."
Computers ai|
cancer detc
CHICAGO (AP) — Usi
puters to double-checkn
grams can increase!
tion of cancers by 20 c
according to a study!
ports early predictions!
new technology.
The findings basedo r
mograms given to nearly;
women suggest the te
can help radiologistsfindsl
cancers earlier while i
their accuracy.
wsw
Society of Women Engineers
General Meeting
When: Wed., Nov. 29 ,h
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Where: ENPH 202
Speaker: Katie Rodriguez - Texaco
Topic: Options Outside Engineering with an Engineering Degree
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