Court Opinion

ID: 9718516
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 07:26:21.409042+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:59.939006
License: Public Domain

White, C. J.,
responding to dissents.
The majority opinion is criticized as ignoring the language of the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U. S. 873, 95 S. Ct. 2574, 45 L. Ed. 2d 607 (1975). It is stated that the principles enunciated in that decision clearly suggest the constitutional invalidity of random stops by state patrolmen to check documents. A careful examination of the language employed by the Supreme Court will reveal that no such inference can be drawn.
Brignoni-Ponce involved the activities of the United States Border Patrol, and the only issue presented for decision was whether “a roving patrol may stop a vehicle in an area near the border and question its occupants when the only ground for suspicion is that the occupants appear to be of Mexican ancestry.” In holding such stops are prohibited by the Fourth Amendment, the court stated: “We are *319unwilling to let the Border Patrol dispense entirely with the requirement that officers must have a reasonable suspicion to justify roving-patrol stops. In the context of border area stops, the reasonableness requirement of the Fourth Amendment demands something more than the broad and unlimited discretion sought by the Government. Roads near the border carry not only aliens seeking to enter the country illegally, but a large volume of legitimate traffic as well. * * *
“We are not convinced that the legitimate needs of law enforcement require this degree of interference with lawful traffic. * * * a requirement of reasonable suspicion for stops allows the Government adequate means of guarding the public interest and also protects residents of the border areas from indiscriminate official interference. Under the circumstances, and even though the intrusion incident to a stop is modest, we conclude that it is not ‘reasonable’ under the Fourth Amendment to make such stops on a random basis.’’ (Emphasis supplied.)
In a footnote to the opinion the court stated: “Our decision in this case takes into account the special function of the Border Patrol, the importance of the governmental interests in policing the border area, the character of roving-patrol stops, and the availability of alternatives to random stops unsupported by reasonable suspicion. Border Patrol agents have no part in enforcing laws that regulate highway use, and their activities have nothing to do with an inquiry whether motorists and their vehicles are entitled, by virtue of compliance with laws governing highway usage, to be upon the public highways. Our decision thus does not imply that state and local enforcement agencies are without power to conduct such limited stops as are necessary to enforce laws regarding drivers licenses, vehicle registration, truck weights, and similar matters. ” (Emphasis supplied.) This language has been previously *320quoted in State v. Holmberg, 194 Neb. 337, 231 N. W. 2d 672 (1975).
In United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U. S. 543, 96 S. Ct. 3074, 49 L. Ed. 2d 1116 (1976), the Supreme Court considered the propriety of Border Patrol operations using permanent checkpoints where all traffic is momentarily stopped and certain vehicles are selectively referred to a secondary inspection area for questioning of the occupants. The defendants argued “that the routine stopping of vehicles at a checkpoint is invalid because Brignoni-Ponce must be read as proscribing any stops in the absence of reasonable suspicion.” The court disagreed, finding no constitutional infirmity in the procedure employed. It stated: “The defendants note correctly that to accomodate public and private interests some quantum of individualized suspicion is usually a prerequisite to a constitutional search or seizure. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U. S., at 21, and n. 18. But the Fourth Amendment imposes no irreducible requirement of such suspicion. This is clear from Camara v. Municipal Court, 387 U. S. 523 (1967). * * * In Camara the Court required an ‘area’ warrant to support the reasonableness of inspecting private residences within a particular area for building code violations, but recognized that ‘specific knowledge of the conditions of the particular dwelling’ was not required to enter any given residence. 387 U. S., at 538. In so holding, the Court examined the government interests advanced to justify such routine intrusions ‘upon the constitutionally protected interests of the private citizen,’ id., at 534-535, and concluded that under the circumstances the government interests outweighed those of the private citizen.
“We think the same conclusion is appropriate here, where we deal neither with searches nor with the sanctity of private dwellings, ordinarily afforded the most stringent Fourth Amendment protection. See, e.g., McDonald v. United States, 335 U. S. 451 *321(1948). As we have noted earlier, one’s expectation of privacy in an automobile and of freedom in its operation are significantly different from the traditional expectation of privacy and freedom in one’s residence. United States v. Ortiz, 422 U. S., at 896 n. 2; see Cardwell v. Lewis, 417 U. S. 583, 590-591 (1974), (plurality opinion). And the reasonableness of the procedures followed in making these checkpoint stops makes the resulting intrusion on the interests of motorists minimal. On the other hand, the purpose of the stops is legitimate and in the public interest, and the need for this enforcement technique is demonstrated by the records in the cases before us. Accordingly, we hold that the stops and questioning at issue may be made in the absence of any individualized suspicion at reasonably located checkpoints.”
In footnote 14 therein the court stated: “Stops for questioning, not dissimilar from those involved here, are used widely at state and local levels to enforce laws regarding drivers’ licenses, safety requirements, weight limits, and similar matters. The fact that the purpose of such laws is said to be administrative is of limited relevance in weighing their intrusiveness on one’s right to travel; and the logic of the defendants’ position, if realistically pursued, might prevent enforcement officials from stopping motorists for questioning on these matters in the absence of reasonable suspicion that a law was being violated. As such laws are not before us, we intimate no view respecting them other than to note that this practice of stopping automobiles briefly for questioning has a long history evidencing its utility and is accepted by motorists as incident to highway use.” (Emphasis supplied.)
From Martinez-Fuerte it is clear that the Fourth Amendment “imposes no irreducible requirement” of reasonable suspicion based upon specific and articulable facts before a motor vehicle may be *322stopped by officers in the performance of their duties. The test is one of balancing the interests at stake, a task which this court performed in State v. Holmberg, supra. The fact that an officer may entertain some suspicions concerning the driver of a vehicle should not invalidate an otherwise legal stop pursuant to section 60-435, R. R. S. 1943.