Com. v. Buchanon

• Decision Date: 18 December 2003
• Docket Number: No. 2001-SC-1056-DG.,2001-SC-1056-DG.
• Citation: 122 S.W.3d 565
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellant, v. David BUCHANON, Appellee.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky

122 S.W.3d 565

COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellant, v. David BUCHANON, Appellee.

No. 2001-SC-1056-DG.

Supreme Court of Kentucky.

December 18, 2003.

As Modified January 12, 2004.

A.B. Chandler, III, Attorney General, George G. Seelig, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Appellate Division, Office of the Attorney General, Frankfort, Counsel for Appellant.

Joseph Kirwan, Coffman & Kirwan, Bowling Green, Counsel for Appellee.

STUMBO, Justice.

David Buchanon was arrested and entered a conditional plea of guilty to first-degree possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia after being stopped at a roadblock operated by the Butler County Sheriff's Department at the intersection of Kentucky Highways 70 and 1117/369. Buchanon moved to suppress the evidence seized from his vehicle based on his claim that the police roadblock was in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The trial court subsequently denied Buchanon's motion to suppress; however, the Court of Appeals vacated the trial court's judgment and remanded the case in order to allow Buchanon to withdraw his guilty plea. The Court of Appeals found that the roadblock was constitutionally impermissible under City of Indianapolis v. Edmond, 531 U.S. 32, 121 S.Ct. 447, 148 L.Ed.2d 333 (2000), and United States v. Huguenin, 154 F.3d 547 (1998). We accepted discretionary review and hereby affirm the opinion of the Court of Appeals.

On September 5, 1999, the Butler County Sheriff's Department set up and maintained a roadblock that stopped every car in both directions of Highway 70 west in Butler County. David Buchanon was driving to work in Muhlenburg County at approximately 6:30 p.m. when he approached the roadblock. The sheriff's department had placed a "spotter" several hundred yards before the roadblock who radioed ahead if a vehicle looked suspicious. As Buchanon's vehicle approached, the spotter alerted deputies at the roadblock that there was a lot of abnormal movement coming from inside the vehicle. When Buchanon reached the roadblock Deputy Steve Morris approached the vehicle and asked to see Buchanon's license and registration. Deputy Morris testified that there was a strong odor of cologne emanating from the vehicle, that Buchanon seemed "real nervous," and that his face was red and his eyes were bloodshot. Deputy Morris testified that he believed Buchanon to be under the influence of drugs. Buchanon was asked to exit the vehicle and was given two field sobriety tests, which although appearing unstable, he ultimately passed. Deputy Morris then asked Buchanon for permission to search his vehicle but was refused. At this time, Deputy Morris summoned the dog trained to detect narcotics to the vehicle to conduct an exterior "sniff." The dog subsequently alerted to the presence of narcotics inside Buchanon's vehicle. The vehicle was then searched and the evidence that resulted in the above charges recovered.

The Commonwealth appeals the Court of Appeals' ruling that the roadblock operated by the Butler County Sheriff's Department was in violation of the Fourth Amendment pursuant to Edmond and Huguenin, supra. Edmond is the United States Supreme Court's most recent pronouncement on the constitutionality of suspicionless seizures occurring at highway checkpoints. In Edmond, the Supreme Court held an Indianapolis narcotics checkpoint program to be in contravention of the Fourth Amendment because its primary purpose was "to uncover evidence of ordinary criminal wrongdoing...." 531 U.S. at 42, 121 S.Ct. 447. To allow checkpoint programs that target such a general interest in crime control would leave law enforcement authorities with the ability to construct roadblocks for nearly any conceivable purpose, thus rendering the Fourth Amendment's protections virtually non-existent in this arena. Id. In Edmond, the parties conceded that the primary purpose of the Indianapolis checkpoints was the interdiction of illegal narcotics; however, the government asserted that the program was justified by its secondary purposes of detecting drunken drivers and verifying licenses and registrations. Id. at 46, 121 S.Ct. 447. The Court responded that "[i]f this were the case, however, law enforcement authorities would be able to establish checkpoints for virtually any purpose so long as they also included a license or sobriety check." Id. The Court indicated that it would now be necessary for courts to examine the evidence to determine whether the actual primary purpose of the checkpoint is lawful, regardless of the government's ostensible or secondary purposes. Id. The Court, in a footnote, specifically reserved the question of whether a checkpoint with the primary purpose of checking licenses and registrations or driver sobriety and a secondary purpose of interdicting illegal narcotics would pass constitutional muster¹. Id. at 47 n. 2, 121 S.Ct. 447.

It is well established that a highway stop of motorists at a government-operated checkpoint effectuates a seizure for Fourth Amendment purposes. Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444, 450, 110 S.Ct. 2481, 2485, 110 L.Ed.2d 412, 420 (1990); United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543, 556, 96 S.Ct. 3074, 3082, 49 L.Ed.2d 1116, 1128 (1976). In order to pass constitutional muster, the seizure must be deemed reasonable, which requires "a weighing of the gravity of the public concerns served by the seizure, the degree to which the seizure advances the public interest, and the severity of the interference with individual liberty." Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 50-51, 99 S.Ct. 2637, 2640, 61 L.Ed.2d 357, 362 (1979). The Fourth Amendment requires that generally, in order to be reasonable, all searches and seizures must be accompanied by an individualized suspicion of wrongdoing. Chandler v. Miller, 520 U.S. 305, 308, 117 S.Ct. 1295, 137 L.Ed.2d 513 (1997). The United States Supreme Court has recognized certain situations, however, where individualized suspicion is not required in order for the brief seizure of motorists to be reasonable.

In Martinez-Fuerte, supra, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a fixed Border Patrol checkpoint with the primary purpose of intercepting illegal aliens. The Court focused on the significant government interest in patrolling the U.S. border and determined that it outweighed the minimal intrusion upon motorists briefly detained at the checkpoints. Id. at 561, 96 S.Ct. 3074.

In Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979), the Supreme Court held that random spot checks of motorists to determine if they held valid driver's licenses and registrations were invalid under the Fourth Amendment without some individualized suspicion of wrongdoing. Id. at 663, 99 S.Ct. 1391. The Court found that the intrusion upon lawful motorists was too great to justify a policy of randomly stopping vehicles to check compliance with licensure and registration laws. The stops were likened to the roving-patrol stops by Border Patrol agents held to be unconstitutional in United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 95 S.Ct. 2574, 45 L.Ed.2d 607 (1975). The Court warned against the "grave danger" inherent in this type of "standardless" and "unconstrained" discretion of law enforcement officers. Prouse, supra, at 662-663, 99 S.Ct. 1391. However, the Court intimated that a roadblock-type stop that checks all oncoming traffic for licenses and registrations would be a sufficient constraint on the discretion of police officials, thereby suggesting that this type of procedure would survive Fourth Amendment scrutiny. Id. at 663, 99 S.Ct. 1391.

In Sitz, supra, the Supreme Court held that the Michigan State Police's checkpoint program, designed to remove drunken drivers from the roadways, was consistent with the Fourth Amendment. 496 U.S. at 455, 110 S.Ct. 2481. The Court in Sitz stated that in order to determine the reasonableness of a highway checkpoint stop, courts must perform the balancing test enunciated in Brown, supra. Id. at 450, 110 S.Ct. 2481. The Court ultimately determined that the state's interest in eradicating drunk driving was sufficiently advanced by the sobriety checkpoint program, and that this interest far outweighed the intrusion upon motorists who were only briefly stopped at the checkpoints. Id. at 455, 110 S.Ct. 2481.

The Supreme Court's decision in Edmond, supra, reiterated that the constitutionality of such checkpoint programs of the type approved in Sitz and Martinez-Fuerte, "still depends on a balancing of the competing interests at stake and the effectiveness of the program." 531 U.S. at 47, 121 S.Ct. 447. However, the Court added that it would now be necessary for courts to conduct a purpose inquiry at the programmatic level in order to determine if the program is justified by a lawful primary purpose. Id. at 46-48, 121 S.Ct. 447. The Edmond Court determined that a primary purpose of general crime control, i.e. "interdicting illegal narcotics," did not justify a checkpoint program that stopped motorists without some indicia of individualized suspicion. Id. at 47, 121 S.Ct. 447.

Kentucky case law on the issue is sparse. Our Court of Appeals has adopted the reasoning of Prouse and Sitz and held that inherent in all constitutional checkpoints is constrained discretion of officers at the scene, and that the checkpoint be established pursuant to some sort of systematic plan. See Commonwealth v. Bothman, Ky.App., 941 S.W.2d 479 (1996); Steinbeck v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 862 S.W.2d 912 (1993); Kinslow v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 660 S.W.2d 677 (1983).

In the case at bar, the record reveals that signs posted as vehicles from one direction² neared the roadblock read, "DUI-DRUG CHECK AHEAD," "K-9 AT WORK," and "PREPARE TO STOP," although Buchanon himself would not have seen the signs prior to being stopped. Deputy Morris, the supervising officer at the scene, testified that the...