Opinion ID: 1060997
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: analysis under the tennessee constitution

Text: As previously noted, the use of sobriety roadblocks is a question of first impression for this Court and there is no settled body of state constitutional law on the issue. We therefore adopt the balancing test outlined in Michigan v. Sitz, supra , as the appropriate constitutional standard, so that when a seizure occurs, an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy is not subject to arbitrary invasions solely at the unfettered discretion of officers in the field, and the seizure is carried out pursuant to a plan embodying explicit, neutral limitations on the conduct of individual officers. We recognize the State's compelling interest in detecting and deterring motorists who drive while under the influence of alcohol. The statistics are overwhelming. As the court noted in Sitz, more deaths and injuries have resulted from such motor vehicle accidents on our nation's highways than from all the wars this country has fought. 496 U.S. at 456, 110 S.Ct. at 2488 (Blackmun, J., concurring). We, therefore, join the majority of jurisdictions who have concluded that the use of a sobriety roadblock may be used to advance the State's compelling interest provided it is established and operated in a manner that minimizes intrusion and limits discretion. In this regard, we observe that the criteria delineated in Loyd , Ingersoll , and Deskins provide the necessary framework for analysis. We are convinced that roadblocks are effective tools in advancing the State's interest in solving a serious public danger. We agree with the Sitz Court that we should not determine which among reasonable law enforcement approaches is the most effective. We leave that decision to politically accountable public officials who are responsible for limited public resources. In the present case, as the Court of Criminal Appeals observed, some aspects of the roadblock were consistent with constitutional standards. For example, the officers stopped all cars traveling in both directions; when the traffic became congested, motorists were permitted to pass through the roadblock. The discretion of the individual officers at the scene, therefore, was limited as to what motorists were to be stopped. Similarly, safety measures were apparently taken to warn approaching motorists of the roadblock. The roadblock was set up in a safe and visible area and consisted of uniformed officers and marked patrol cars with flashing blue lights. All of the remaining evidence, however, indicated that this roadblock was not established and operated in a manner that was consistent with article I, section 7 of the Tennessee Constitution. First and foremost, the decision to set up a roadblock was made by an officer in the field. Likewise, the site selected for the roadblock and the procedure to be used in operating the roadblock were matters left to the discretion of an officer in the field. No supervisory authority was sought or obtained, and no administrative decisions were made with regard to these critical factors. The State maintains on appeal that the absence of formal, supervisory participation was of little weight since Lt. Hill supervised the roadblock at the scene. We disagree. Virtually every court has emphasized the importance of limiting the discretion of police officers at the scene. We agree with the observation of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that the possibility of arbitrary roadblocks can be significantly curtailed by the institution of certain safeguards. First the very decision to hold a drunk-driver roadblock, as well as the decision as to its time and place, should be matters reserved for prior administrative approval, thus removing the determination of those matters from the discretion of police officers in the field... . Additionally, the question of which vehicles to stop at the roadblock should not be left to the unfettered discretion of police officers at the scene, but instead should be in accordance with objective standards prefixed by administrative decision. Com. v. Tarbert, 535 A.2d at 1043. Lt. Hill's concessions that supervisory and administrative authority was not sought makes it crystal clear that proper measures were not taken to prevent the unfettered discretion of officers at the scene. The lack of administrative or supervisory decision making was also evidenced by the absence of publicity surrounding the roadblock. [8] We believe advance publicity furthers the deterrence rationale for the use of a sobriety roadblock. One state court has observed: It is the publicity about roadblocks [that] is the chief means of deterring driving while intoxicated. State v. Koppel, 499 A.2d at 982. The State's contention that advanced publicity was unnecessary because the roadblock was well-marked at the scene completely ignores the deterrence rationale. Accordingly, this omission in the present case likewise weighs against the reasonableness of the roadblock used to stop the defendant. Finally, the absence of supervisory or administrative decision-making in this case may have contributed to creating an issue as to the purpose of the roadblock. The testimony in the record is that officers set up this roadblock for the purpose of checking drivers' licenses in accordance with General Order 410 of the Department of Safety. All the remaining evidence in the record, however, indicates that the actual purpose was the detection of alcohol-impaired motorists. We do not decide whether the roadblock was a subterfuge or a pretext for investigating drunk drivers, or address the implications that might follow such a finding. [9] Instead, this discrepancy in the proof is a reflection of the overall failure by law enforcement officers to establish this roadblock in a manner consistent with administrative and supervisory oversight. We conclude, therefore, that this likewise is a factor that weighs against the reasonableness of this particular roadblock. The dissent agrees with the constitutional principles we have cited but disagrees with the result we have reached. The primary objection is to our conclusion that the absence of supervisory and administrative authority weighed against the reasonableness of this roadblock. The dissent instead infers from the gathering of county and city law enforcement officers at the scene that the roadblock was conducted with administrative oversight. We respectfully disagree. There is no evidence in this record as to the supervisory and administrative procedures to be followed in establishing a roadblock. Moreover, Lt. Hill did not testify that he sought or obtained any type of approval from any supervisory officer; had he done so, he could simply have testified as to the authority he was given and the procedures he followed. Instead, his testimony is clear that he alone made the decision to set up this roadblock; he alone determined the manner of its operation; and he alone, as an officer in the field, supervised it with unrestrained discretion. That he apparently was able to persuade city and county personnel to assist in the operation is not, in our view, probative of the overall supervisory oversight and administrative procedure. Accordingly, the evidence in the record simply does not support the attenuated inference drawn by the dissent.