Thirty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that a suspicionless investigatory intrusion on a motorist was justified based on the public’s interest in reducing driving under the influence (DUI). The high court was considering the constitutionality of sobriety check points when it decided Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444 (1990).

In a 6-3 decision, the court held that sobriety check points did not violate the Fourth Amendment. The court noted that “no one can seriously dispute the magnitude of the drunken driving problem or the states’ interest in eradicating it.” The court then found that “the measure of the intrusion on motorists stopped briefly at sobriety checkpoints—is slight.”

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]