ABSTRACT
The practice of establishing roadblocks to detect people drinking and driving became popular among police in the late 1980s. The constitutionality was challenged and the Court held these kinds of police actions are constitutional under limited circumstances. This means roadblocks designed to enhance safety on the roads are acceptable, whereas roadblocks designed to detect “ordinary criminal wrongdoing” are not. The leading cases briefed in this chapter on roadblocks are Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz and Indianapolis v. Edmond.
