The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that sobriety checkpoints designed to catch drunken drivers will be allowed only if certain criteria is met.
The decision overturned the Indiana Court of Appeals interpretation of the State Constitution. They ruled the Constitution prohibited all sobriety checkpoints because they were unreasonable seizures.
According to the ruling, road blocks are constitutional if they are minimally intrusive and based on neutral criteria that target serious dangers specific to vehicular operation. Random and purely discretionary stops are still illegal, the court declared.
According to an Associated Press article Tuesday, the court's majority said the checkpoint that led to the latest appellate court review did not meet constitutional guidelines. The court said the officers were given too much discretion and there was a weak link between public danger and the objectives, location and timing of the checkpoints.
Since November 2000 Indiana's police have stopped using the sobriety checkpoints after a man from Mishawaka, Jarrod Gerschoffer, challenged his arrest June 18, 1999.
Gerschoffer failed three field sobriety tests and showed signs of intoxication. Police said Gerschoffer was asked to take a breathalizer test, which showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 percent, one percentage point above the then-legal limit of 0.10 percent.
The appeals court found that the checkpoints were an ''unreasonable seizure'' under the state constitution because they were done without a warrant or probable cause. The appellate court said a reasonable suspicion was required before conducting such traffic stops.
The Muncie Police Department supports the Supreme Court's ruling, but they will not abandon the Driving Under the Influence Task Force. MPD Sergeant Michael Engle said the task force initially began as a reaction to losing the checkpoints.
"With the roadblocks I don't feel like we were getting people with as many violations as we are with the DUI Task Force," he said.
MPD, the Ball State University Police Department and surrounding law enforcement agencies compose the task force. Approximately 15 officers are pulled from the agencies and patrol the same small, confined areas - such as Ball State.
Officers in one place at one time, Engle said, are able to keep a closer watch on vehicles that show probable cause to be pulled over.
Gene Burton, acting director of the UPD, said the department is in favor of using roadblocks.
"It is a positive thing for traffic enforcement and public safety," Burton said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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