558 U.S. 978 (2009), 08-1385, Virginia v. Harris

Citation558 U.S. 978, 130 S.Ct. 10, 175 L.Ed.2d 322, 78 U.S.L.W. 3236
Opinion JudgeRoberts Chief Justice, Scalia joins Justice
Party NameVIRGINIA, Petitioner, v. Joseph A. Moses HARRIS, Jr., Respondent.
Judge PanelRoberts, Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, Sotomayor.
Case DateOctober 20, 2009
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Page 978

558 U.S. 978 (2009)

130 S.Ct. 10, 175 L.Ed.2d 322, 78 U.S.L.W. 3236

VIRGINIA, Petitioner,

v.

Joseph A. Moses HARRIS, Jr., Respondent.

No. 08-1385.

United States Supreme Court

October 20, 2009

Roberts, Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, Sotomayor.

The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.

Roberts Chief Justice, with whom Justice Scalia joins, dissenting from denial of certiorari.

Every year, close to 13,000 people die in alcohol-related car crashes—roughly one death every 40 minutes. See Dept. of Transp., Nat. Hwy. Traffic Safety Admin., Traffic Safety Facts, 2007 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment— Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities 1 (No. 81106, Aug. 2008). Ordinary citizens are well aware of the dangers posed by drunk driving, and they frequently report such conduct to the police. A number of States have adopted programs specifically designed to encourage such tips— programs such as the "Drunkbusters Hotline" in New Mexico and the REDDI program (Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately) in force in several States. See Dept. of Transp., Nat. Hwy. Traffic Safety Admin., Programs Across the United States That Aid Motorists in the Reporting of Impaired Drivers to Law Enforcement (2007).

By a 4-to-3 vote, the Virginia Supreme Court below adopted a rule that will undermine such efforts to get drunk drivers off the road. The decision below commands that police officers following a driver reported to be drunk do nothing until they see the driver actually do something unsafe on the road—by which time it may be too late.

Here, a Richmond police officer pulled Joseph Harris over after receiving an anonymous tip that Harris was driving while intoxicated. The tip described Harris, his car, and the direction he was [175 L.Ed.2d 323] traveling in considerable detail. The officer did not personally witness Harris violate any traffic laws. When Harris was pulled over, however, he reeked of alcohol, his speech was slurred, he almost fell over in attempting to exit his car, and he failed the sobriety tests the officer administered on the scene. Harris was convicted of driving while intoxicated, but the Virginia Supreme

Page 979

Court overturned the conviction. It concluded that because the officer had failed to independently verify that Harris was driving dangerously, the stop violated the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. 276 Va. 689, 696–698, 668 S.E.2d 141, 146–147 (2008); see Pet. for Cert. 4 (citing record).

I am not sure that the Fourth Amendment requires such independent corroboration before the police can act, at least in the special context of anonymous tips reporting drunk driving. This is an important question that is not answered by our past decisions, and that has deeply divided federal and state courts. The Court should grant the petition for certiorari to answer the question and resolve the conflict.

On the one hand, our cases allow police to conduct investigative stops based on reasonable suspicion, viewed under the totality of the circumstances. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 22, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325, 328-331, 110 S.Ct. 2412, 110 L.Ed.2d 301 (1990). In Florida v. J. L., 529 U.S. 266, 270, 120 S.Ct. 1375, 146 L.Ed.2d 254 (2000), however, we explained that anonymous tips, in the absence of additional corroboration, typically lack the "indicia of reliability" needed to justify a stop under the reasonable suspicion standard. In J. L., the Court suppressed evidence seized by police after receiving an anonymous tip [130 S.Ct. 11] alleging that a young man, wearing a plaid shirt and waiting at a particular bus stop, was carrying a gun. The majority below relied extensively on J. L. in reversing Harris's conviction.

But it is not clear that J. L. applies to anonymous tips reporting drunk or erratic driving. J. L. itself suggested that the Fourth Amendment analysis might be different in other situations. The Court declined "to speculate about the circumstances under which the danger alleged in an anonymous tip might be so great as to justify a search even without a showing of reliability." Id., at 273, 120 S.Ct. 1375, 146 L.Ed.2d 254. It also hinted that "in quarters where the reasonable expectation of Fourth Amendment privacy is diminished," it might be constitutionally permissible to "conduct protective searches on the basis of information insufficient to justify searches elsewhere." Id., at 274, 120 S.Ct. 1375, 146 L.Ed.2d 254.

There is no question that drunk driving is a serious and potentially deadly...

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3 books & journal articles
  • Probable Cause Pluralism.
    • United States
    • Yale Law Journal Vol. 129 No. 5, March 2020
    • March 1, 2020
    ...driving was irreproachable."). (272.) See id. at 405 (describing Navarette as rejecting "our prior cases"). (273.) Virginia v. Harris, 558 U.S. 978, 980 (2009) (Roberts, C.J., joined (interestingly) by Scalia, J., (274.) See id. at 981 (describing traffic stops as "less invasive" than other......
  • Presumed drunk until proven sober: the dangers and implications of anonymous tips following Navarette v. California.
    • United States
    • South Dakota Law Review Vol. 60 No. 2, June - June 2015
    • June 22, 2015
    ...at 804. (8.) See infra notes 11-13 and accompanying text. (9.) See infra notes 11-13 and accompanying text. (10.) Virginia v. Harris, 558 U.S. 978, 980 (2009) (Roberts, C.J., dissenting), denying cert, to Harris v. Commonwealth, 668 S.E.2d 141 (Va. 2008). (11.) Navarette 11, 134 S. Ct. 1683......
  • 59 RI Bar J., No. 3, Pg. 31. Seven Cases Every Rhode Island DUI Practitioner Should Know.
    • United States
    • Rhode Island Bar Journal No. 2011, January 2011
    • January 1, 2011
    ...first violation has to be found beyond a reasonable doubt. Virginia v. Harris, 276 Va. 689, 668 S.E.2d 141 (2008), cert. denied, 130 S.Ct. 10 Anonymous tips reporting drunk driving lack sufficient indicia of reliability to justify an investigatory stop, absent observations in......

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