Opinion ID: 1060443
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the gravity of the public concern served by the roadblock

Text: With respect to the gravity of the public concerns served by drivers' license roadblocks, we must first identify the state interest in maintaining such roadblocks and then determine whether this interest is sufficiently compelling to abrogate constitutional protections against suspicionless stops. The presence of a sufficiently compelling state interest justifying a warrantless seizure at a checkpoint is an important, if not essential, factor going to the overall constitutional reasonableness of any such stop. The need and importance of this factor were acknowledged in Downey , which devoted considerable attention to examining whether the State possessed a sufficiently compelling interest in maintaining sobriety checkpoints. Moreover, persuasive authority for initially requiring the presence of a sufficiently compelling state interest can be found in other cases decided since Downey 's release, perhaps most notably the recent decision from the United States Supreme Court in City of Indianapolis v. Edmond . In that case, the Court held a roadblock unconstitutional solely because its primary purpose contravene[d] the Fourth Amendment. See 531 U.S. at 42, 121 S.Ct. 447. Therefore, we believe that critical examination of the nature and presence of the state interest involved is an important and essential factor in ascertaining the reasonableness of any roadblock. As such, we first undertake a careful study of the State's asserted interest in this case and of the proof in the record to support the presence of this interest.