Author Question: What types of checkpoints or roadblocks have been approved or disapproved by the U.S. Supreme Court? ... (Read 93 times)

CQXA · **on:** Aug 16, 2018

What types of checkpoints or roadblocks have been approved or disapproved by the U.S. Supreme Court? Do you agree or disagree with the Court's decisions on any or all of these types? Explain your position.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Define and provide an example of a pretext (pretextual) motor vehicle stop. What did the U.S. Supreme Court say about such stops in Whren v. U.S. (1996)? Explain why you agree or disagree with that decision.

What will be an ideal response?

Kaytorgator · **Reply #1 on:** Aug 16, 2018

Answer to Question 1

The U.S. Supreme Court has approved checkpoints or roadblocks to control drunk
driving, to control the flow of illegal aliens, to check for a driver's license and vehicle
registration, and because of a hit-and-run accident, but have disapproved a roadblock
to detect criminal wrongdoing. I agree with the Court's decisions on all of these
types, because the government has a strong interest in keeping our roadways safe, in
protecting our borders, in regulating the use of motor vehicles on the highway, and
that governmental interest outweighs the temporary inconvenience of a roadblock.

Answer to Question 2

A pretext (pretextual) motor vehicle stop is a valid stop that is used as a pretext to
search a vehicle. An example is when plainclothes vice officers patrolling a highdrug-crime area in an unmarked car stop a vehicle because the occupants acted
strangely. The U.S. Supreme Court in the Whren case said the test is whether the
officers could have made a valid stop for a traffic violation, even though that was
not the primary reason for the stop. I agree with that decision because police
officers have the responsibility to enforce all the state and local laws, not just the
laws that relate to their specific assignment.