Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz (1989)
- Docket
- 88-1897
- Decided
- 1989-01-01
Summary
Question: Did the drunk driving checkpoints violate motorists' privacy protected by the Fourth Amendment? Conclusion: In a 6-to-3 decision, the Court held that the roadblocks 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 weight bearing on the other scale--the measure of the intrusion on motorists stopped briefly at sobriety checkpoints--is slight." The Court also found that empirical evidence supported the effectiveness of the program.