It was Labor Day Weekend across this great nation, which meant a three-day weekend of barbecues, trips to the lake, and, of course, the temporary suspension of the Fourth Amendment. It was one of those rare occasions when we could reconnect with old friends, provide the kids with some life-long memories, and be subjected to search and seizure methods on par with a third-world country.
It was DUI Checkpoint Weekend! Hooray?
Yes, that's right, law enforcement in 38 states spent the weekend ambushing unsuspecting motorists and forcing them to stop and be interviewed, absent such inconveniences as "probable cause."
Law-abiding Texans were spared the indignity of blanket-detention. Texas refuses checkpoints because it believes the United States Supreme Court erred when it declared the practice legal.
Anyone who's a fan of freedom -- and, as it turns out, public safety -- would have to agree: Texas got it right.
The Supreme opinion with which the Lone Star State disagrees is a 1990 edict in the case "Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz." The Court's decision in that case, which can be summed as "Sure it's a constitutional violation, but nobody likes drunk drivers, so ..." readily admits that forcing every driver to stop at a random checkpoint is illegal, prima facie. ("Petitioners concede, correctly in our view, that a Fourth Amendment 'seizure' occurs when a vehicle is stopped at a checkpoint," said the majority.)
Six justices rationalized DUI checkpoints anyway, saying that since drunk driving is a serious problem, states have free rein to stop it. That slope's more slippery that a Crisco-covered Slip'N Slide, but that's not even the lowest hanging fruit in the argument.
Because even if a bit of mental yoga can justify checkpoints as legal -- and far be it from me to criticize the nation's highest court too rigorously -- statistics show the tactic is entirely ineffective.
The success rate of DUI checkpoints, measured as the number of drunk drivers caught compared to the number of innocent people needlessly questioned, is about 1 in 250. And before you trot out the old "if it catches even one, it's worth it" argument, try this on for size: the massive investment of man-hours at a checkpoint means the net effect on public safety could actually be negative.
And that's not just a theory. A Maryland study cited by Justice John Paul Stevens in his dissent found that when two counties were compared side-by-side, the county without DUI checkpoints had fewer alcohol-related crashes than the county with checkpoints. What's more, the checkpoint county actually saw DUI deaths increase after the ambush tactic was employed.
But above and beyond the questionable legality and proved ineffectiveness, DUI checkpoints are wrong for a far more basic reason. As recent events in Missouri and elsewhere have shown, an officer inserting himself into your life is often cause for fear and anxiety, and that tension can make an OK situation turn negative in a hurry. Again from the dissent, here's my man J.P. with the assist:
"To be law abiding is not necessarily to be spotless, and even the most virtuous can be unlucky. Unwanted attention from the local police need not be less discomforting simply because one's secrets are not the stuff of criminal prosecutions. Moreover, those who have found -- by reason of prejudice or misfortune -- that encounters with the police may become adversarial or unpleasant without good cause will have grounds for worrying at any stop designed to elicit signs of suspicious behavior. Being stopped by the police is distressing even when it should not be terrifying, and what begins mildly may by happenstance turn severe."
That's a trifecta of reasons for more states to revisit the unconstitutional, unnecessary stupidity of DUI checkpoints. Let's allow cops to use their training to spot drunk drivers and end an un-American tactic that's ironically, laughingly become a law enforcement staple on all the patriotic holidays.
NATE STRAUCH IS A REPORTER AND COLUMNIST WITH THE SHERMAN-DENISON (TX) HERALD DEMOCRAT.
Commentary on 09/05/2014