Pubdate: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 Source: San Luis Obispo County Tribune (CA) Copyright: 2000 The Tribune Contact: P.O. Box 112, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406-0112 Fax: 805.781.7905 Website: http://www.thetribunenews.com/ Author: Associated Press COURT TO WEIGHT ISSUE OF DRUG CHECKPOINTS Stops May Violate The Fourth Amendment WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court, taking a new look at the privacy rights of Americans in their cars, said Tuesday it will decide whether police can set up random traffic checkpoints and stop motorists to search for illegal drugs. The justices said they will review a federal appeals court ruling that said checkpoints where Indianapolis police detained most motorists for about three minutes likely amounted to unreasonable seizures in violation of the Constitution's Fourth Amendment. A decision, expected sometime next year, will provide the court's latest word on the amendment's scope. "This is a significant case, one that will define a city's power to conduct random searches of vehicles whenever it perceives it has a problem," said Kenneth Falk, the Indiana Civil Liberties Union lawyer representing two men who challenged the police practice. Falk said a ruling that allows such searches for drugs also could allow random stops to find people who fail to make child-support payments or people who have not paid traffic fines. Police generally need a court warrant or a reason to suspect someone of a crime before detaining them for several minutes. But in past rulings, the nation's highest court allowed police to set up sobriety checkpoints aimed at randomly detecting inebriated motorists and border roadblocks to intercept illegal immigrants. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D