Court Opinion

ID: 9794638
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 03:08:54.304321+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:17:06.051340
License: Public Domain

FELDMAN, Justice,
specially concurring.
I concur with the result and write only because I disagree with that portion of the opinion which holds that the record fails to establish sufficient grounds to uphold the use of a properly instituted roadblock.
The roadblocks in question were established for the purpose of discovering and apprehending drunk drivers. The rest of the reasons given for the roadblock, such as administrative enforcement of driver’s licensing and registration laws, were obviously ideas intended as camouflage or support for the true purpose of the stops. In my view, the state would have been in a better position if it had faced the problem square*6ly and established the roadblocks in a manner designed to achieve their true purpose, and nothing else. It then could have argued the importance of the roadblocks as a deterrent designed to keep drunk drivers off the roads on the Labor Day weekend.
I agree with the majority that the roadblocks in question constitute a seizure under the fourth amendment. That amendment, prohibiting “unreasonable searches and seizures,” “imposes limits on search-and-seizure powers in order to prevent arbitrary and oppressive interference by enforcement officials with the privacy and personal security of individuals.” United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543, 554, 96 S.Ct. 3074, 3081, 49 L.Ed.2d 1116 (1976). “In delineating the constitutional safeguards applicable in particular contexts, the [Supreme] Court has weighed the public interest against the Fourth Amendment interest of the individual.” Id. at 555, 96 S.Ct. at 3081. Arrests require probable cause to believe the person being arrested has committed a crime. Seizures short of arrest may be made on lesser grounds, but usually require “some quantum of individualized suspicion,” id. at 561, 96 S.Ct. at 3084, most often a founded suspicion based upon articulable-facts that the person being arrested is or has engaged in criminal activity. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); State v. Graciano, 134 Ariz. 35, 37, 653 P.2d 683, 685 (1982).
The Terry exception to the probable cause requirement will not support the stops made in the instant cases because the roadblock stopped everyone — -whether there was a founded suspicion pr not. The issue here, therefore, is whether the fourth amendment permits officers to stop and question persons whose conduct is innocent, unremarkable and free from suspicion.
The question has frightening implications. The thought that an American can be compelled to “show his papers” before exercising his right to walk the streets, drive the highways or board the trains is repugnant to American institutions and ideals. If roadblocks can be maintained to stop all persons, regardless of how innocent their conduct, for the purpose of investigating or apprehending drunk drivers, then presumably similar stops of all citizens could be undertaken for questioning and surveillance with regard to other crimes, such as possession of narcotics, possession of stolen property or burglary. It might be argued that if the law did permit such stops, we would have less crime. Nevertheless, our system is based on the idea that the risk of criminal activity is less of a danger than the risk of unfettered interference with personal liberty. The concept was succinctly expressed by a newspaper columnist who recently used these words in describing his opposition to roadblock stops for apprehension of drunk drivers:
I ... have often thought that getting killed by some intoxicated idiot who crossed the median divider and hit me head-on would be the worst and most senseless way to die.
I mourn for the parents of children who have died at the hands of drunk drivers. But none of this makes a police state acceptable. Freedom doesn’t come risk-free. I’m willing to take some risks in exchange for my freedom.
Andy Rooney, Roadblocks for Drunk Drivers Nibble Away at Our Freedoms, Chicago Tribune, reprinted in The Arizona Republic, April 4, 1983, at A7.
These words reflect the spirit of the general rule that stop and seizure involves so serious an interference with personal liberty that it should not be permitted in a free society absent a founded suspicion of criminal conduct. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979). However, “the Fourth Amendment imposes no irreducible requirement of [individualized] suspicion.” Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. at 561, 96 S.Ct. at 3084. While the balancing of public and private interests usually makes individualized suspicion a prerequisite to a constitutional search or seizure, several examples of reasonable searches and seizures based on a standard other than individualized suspicion can be noted. As the majority indicates, one such exception has been enforcement of building codes *7through the inspection of premises. Camara v. Municipal Court, 387 U.S. 523, 87 S.Ct. 1727, 18 L.Ed.2d 930 (1967). Another recognized exception is the use of roadblock-type stops of all vehicles to enforce the immigration laws. United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, supra. A third exception involves airport stops and searches. The luggage check and metal detection procedure with which we are all now familiar is an interference in personal liberty and is, therefore, a search under the fourth amendment. See United States v. Davis, 482 F.2d 893 (9th Cir.1973). Nevertheless, all persons are subjected to that process, even though there is no founded suspicion that they are engaged in criminal activity, because the need for inspection is urgent, the potential damage is great and there are few, if any, reasonable alternatives. Thus, a non-discriminatory, non-discretionary search of prospective travelers’ luggage by X-ray and their bodies by metal detectors has been sustained as reasonable under the fourth amendment. See id. at 910-912; United States v. Epperson, 454 F.2d 769 (4th Cir.1972), cert. denied, 406 U.S. 947, 92 S.Ct. 2050, 32 L.Ed.2d 334 (1972).
An excellent review of the problem is contained in Professor LaFave’s work on search and seizure:
It may well be, however, that a roadblock for general enforcement purposes, if it involves nothing more than questioning of the occupants of the vehicle stopped, will be upheld under some circumstances. The Supreme Court has upheld the use of “reasonably located checkpoints” for the purpose of questioning vehicle occupants to determine whether they are illegal aliens [citing United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, supra] (but not to search the vehicles for such aliens), and has also indicated that “questioning of all oncoming traffic at roadblock-type stops” would be a lawful means of checking drivers’ licenses and vehicle registrations. [Citing Delaware v. Prouse, supra.] Those cases, however, are grounded on the balancing test of Camara v. Municipal Court and a determination that, as in Camara, the particular government interests involved could not be adequately protected if an individualized reasonable suspicion test were applicable. This being so, it cannot be assumed that those cases inevitably carry over to roadblocks conducted for more ordinary or traditional investigative purposes. But more recently, in Brown v. Texas, [443 U.S. 47, 99 S.Ct. 2637, 61 L.Ed.2d 357 (1979) ] the Court cited those decisions in declaring, in the context of assessing a stopping for a narcotics investigation, that such a seizure must be upon reasonable, individualized suspicion or “must be carried out pursuant to a plan embodying explicit, neutral limitations on the conduct of individual officers.” This suggests that a roadblock conducted in conformance with such a plan might pass Fourth Amendment muster even when not directed at the apprehension of the perpetrator of a specific recent and most serious crime.
3 W. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 9.5 at 63-64 (Supp.1983).
It is here that I depart from the reasoning of the majority. Applying the balancing test of Camara v. Municipal Court and of United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, supra, I believe that we are able to hold that a properly conducted roadblock stop without founded suspicion is permitted by the fourth amendment when used for deterrent purposes rather than traditional investigatory purposes. I reach this conclusion upon weighing the factors mentioned by the Supreme Court in Camara and Martinez-Fuerte.
First, we must consider the purpose of the intrusive conduct. United States v. Munoz, 701 F.2d 1293, 1299 (9th Cir., March 22, 1983). The governmental interest sought to be protected by the roadblocks is greater than merely detecting and apprehending drunk drivers. Given the carnage on our highways, there is a unique societal interest in enforcing compliance with the *8law by deterring driving while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.1
Second, the state cannot satisfy this interest by traditional methods which satisfy the Terry test. The traditional system has left us far short of achieving the law’s objective. While the state necessarily stipulates that training and experience enable police officers to recognize and apprehend many inebriated drivers upon founded suspicion, I do not believe that this “stipulates the state out of court.” It is only fortuitous that an officer happens to be in a position to see a drunk entering the freeway on the off-ramp before that drunk happens to kill some innocent person. We are not likely ever to achieve the situation where there will be police officers available at closing time on a Labor Day weekend night at each of the locations where patrons shuffle from their favorite saloon to the parking lot, nor, I think, would we ever desire to have that many officers available.
While the majority indicates “the record discloses no statistics concerning the extent of the problem of drunk drivers on Arizona highways” (at 996), I believe that readily available statistics provide us with information of which we may take judicial notice.2 In a statement made before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation in 1982, the Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated: “Over the past 10 years the number of persons killed on our highways in motor vehicle accidents involving alcohol has averaged 25,000 per year. In 1980, over 650,000 people were injured in accidents involving alcohol.” Federal Legislation to Combat Drunk Driving Including National Driver Register: Hearing on S. 671, S. 672, S. 2158 Before the Subcomm. on Surface Transportation of the Senate Comm, on Commerce, Science & Transportation, 97th Cong., 2nd Sess. 65 (1982). Between 40 and 55% of drivers who are fatally injured have alcohol concentrations in their blood above the legal limit and this figure rises to 55 to 65% in single-vehicle crashes. Alcohol, Drugs & Driving: Hearing to Examine What Effect Alcohol & Drugs Have on Individuals While Driving Before the Subcomm. on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse of the Senate Comm, on Labor & Human Resources, 97th Cong., 2nd Sess. 1 (1982). Furthermore, it has been estimated that one out of every 50 drivers on the road has a blood-alcohol content of .10 or higher; on Friday and Saturday nights, one out of 10 drivers is drunk. Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Surface Transportation, supra at 112. However, “only 1 of every 2,000 drinking drivers is caught daily, while 70 [people] are killed.” Id. at 55. Many of those killed or injured are innocent victims of drunk drivers. Arizonans are no less in jeopardy than those in other states. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that Arizona ranks fourth highest among the states in the proportionate number of casualties associated with drinking problems. Alcohol Problems Seem to be More Widespread in the West, The Wall Street Journal, January 25, 1983, at 25. These statistics make it obvious that traditional law enforcement methods, involving the arrest by roving officers of only those whom they can stop upon a founded suspicion of drunk driving, fall short of satisfying society’s compelling interest in enforcing compliance with the laws prohibiting drunk driving.3 *9This being so, more intrusive methods may be considered reasonable. See Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. at 659, 99 S.Ct. at 1399.
Third, the roadblock method can be planned and operated so that it requires only a relatively minimal invasion of personal liberty, privacy and dignity. United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. at 559, 96 S.Ct. at 3083. In reaching this conclusion, I do not minimize the intrusion. Being stopped and questioned by police officers while exercising one’s lawful rights is a substantial infringement upon liberty of movement. Nevertheless, the serious dangers involved in airplane hijacking and bomb incidents have compelled us to accept some degree of restraint upon personal liberty when we exercise our right to move through the airport and board an airplane. An occasional stop at a roadblock for minimal questioning and visual inspection — not search — may well be the price which we have to pay to enforce compliance with the law and rid ourselves of the presently intolerable danger created by drunk drivers. In my view, therefore, limited infringement on personal movement in this situation is reasonable and thus permitted by the fourth amendment. However, even though the danger is great and enforcement alternatives ineffective, the intrusion on personal liberty must be kept to a minimum by being “carried out pursuant to a plan embodying explicit, neutral limitations on the conduct of individual officers.” Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. at 51, 96 S.Ct. at 2640.
It is at this point that I must rejoin the majority, because the roadblocks under consideration here do not pass such a test. The record before us does not indicate that the roadblocks in question were established by any plan formulated or approved by executive-level officers of the law enforcement agencies involved. See Balelo v. Baldridge, - F.2d -, -, No. 81-5806 (9th Cir., Jan. 5, 1983). No standards were provided with regard to time, place and the number of officers required to make sure delays were held to a minimum and the roadblocks instituted at times and places where they would be most effective to deter drunk drivers. No procedural rules or regulations or instructions were given the individual officers or their immediate supervisors. Procedures to be followed in stopping vehicles and questioning their occupants were left to the discretion of the lower level officers; they could and did vary from roadblock to roadblock. No doubt as a result, the record before us indicates the use of methods which would be doubtful in seizure of a person stopped on a founded suspicion of criminal activity, and which are certainly highly inappropriate for a stop of someone whose conduct provided the officer with no grounds for suspicion. For instance, the record indicates that the officers did not explain the purpose of the roadblock or stop to occupants of vehicles. Worse, the officers refused to answer questions regarding the reason for the stop. Searches were made, some, no doubt, without probable cause. Officers present included those not even assigned to traffic enforcement duty. The record is replete with other details of improper operation. It is unnecessary to recount them; the requirements of explicit, neutral limitations on the conduct of officers is explained in Martinez-Fuerte, supra.
Thus, I join in the court’s conclusion that the stop of each vehicle at these roadblocks violated the fourth amendment and was illegal. The subsequent discovery of probable cause for the arrest of the three defend*10ants in question in this case is tainted by that illegality. I maintain, however, that the fourth amendment would allow properly planned and operated roadblocks established for deterrent rather than investigative or apprehension purposes; the object would be to enforce compliance with the laws prohibiting driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs by deterring such people from going upon the highway at all. Possible penal consequences would be only incidental and secondary. See United States v. Munoz, 701 F.2d at 1299.
I acknowledge that the effect of the roadblock is often the same whether it be placed for deterrence or investigation,4 but that there are some significant differences which are the natural result of the difference in purpose. For instance, roadblocks placed for deterrence should be instituted at times and locations based upon the need to supplement random investigatory stops with measures designed to keep drunken drivers from using heavily traveled highways at all. Next, the efficacy of a deterrent roadblock is heightened by advance publicity in the media and on the highways. Such publicity would warn those using the highways that they might expect to find roadblocks designed to check for sobriety; the warning may well decrease the chance of apprehending “ordinary” criminals, but should certainly have a considerable deterring effect by either dissuading people from taking “one more for the road,” persuading them to drink at home, or inducing them to take taxicabs. Any one of these goals, if achieved, would have the salutary effect of interfering with the lethal combination of alcohol and gasoline. Advance notice would limit intrusion upon personal dignity and security because those being stopped would anticipate and understand what was happening. See Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. at 558, 96 S.Ct. at 3083; United States v. Davis, 482 F.2d at 914. For these reasons, roadblock stops are less intrusive than investigatory stops by roving officers. United States v. Munoz, 701 F.2d at 1297.
In conclusion, therefore, drawing a balance between an individual’s right of personal liberty and the urgent public interest in enforcement of the drunk driving laws, I would permit the use of administratively planned and properly operated roadblocks for deterrent purposes in situations, like the one before us, where problems unique to motor vehicles render traditional methods of law enforcement ineffective. Even when so planned and designed, such roadblocks should be operated in a manner calculated in advance to provide the least possible intrusion into the public’s freedom and sense of security. Methods to achieve this are suggested in United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, supra, and should be observed. In my view, the roadblocks in the case before us were investigatory in nature and operated as though the officers were exercising some right of apprehension. While there may be intimations in Brown v. Texas, supra, that investigatory roadblocks are proper, I would hold that under the Arizona Constitution, art. 2, § 8,5 they are not, even if the United States Supreme Court should allow them under the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution.
I join in the holding that the order of the lower court granting defendant’s motions to suppress should be affirmed.

. This factor highlights the difference between drunk driving and other types of crime involving motor vehicles. No doubt roadblocks would be useful in enforcing compliance with the laws concerning joyriding, stolen vehicles, driving with improper equipment and the like. However, society’s interest in law enforcement respecting these crimes is not of the same weight as its interest in ending the death and injury which result from the mix of alcohol and gasoline; the weight of the competing interests enters into the decision because the fourth amendment forbids only “unreasonable” search and seizure.

. In Noland v. Wootan, 102 Ariz. 192, 193, 427 P.2d 143, 144 (1967), we did “take judicial notice of the terrible toll taken by drivers who mix alcohol and gasoline.”

. One might argue that the recently enacted statutes (A.R.S. § 28-692 to -692.02) increasing punishment for driving while intoxicated would provide a sufficient deterrent, without *9infringing upon the liberty of innocent persons. The problem is that deterrence by punishment is often ineffective unless combined with a fear of apprehension. The same comment could, of course, be made with regard to all other crimes, but almost all other crimes can be distinguished. In drunk driving it is the very presence of the vehicle on the road which is the object to be prevented and the single thing most effectively accomplished by roadblocks. In narcotics enforcement, on the other hand, there is no assurance that roadblocks would prevent possession or sale, and there is no method of enforcement except by search of the person and vehicle itself. In my opinion, this involves too great an infringement on personal liberty. The deterrent roadblock for drunk driving would, however, force the car off the road or prevent it coming on the road, thus meeting the law enforcement objective with a very minimal infringement on personal liberty.

. Obviously, a stop for the purpose of questioning and visual inspection regarding sobriety may lead to particularized suspicion justifying further police action in some cases.

. “No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, ... without authority of law.”