State v. Parms
| Decision Date | 11 April 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 87-KK-2508,87-KK-2508 |
| Citation | 523 So.2d 1293 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana v. Felix PARMS. |
| Court | Louisiana Supreme Court |
Kevin Monahan, Robert Felton Monahan, Vinet & Monahan, Baton Rouge, for applicant.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Houston Gascon, III, Dist. Atty., E. Neil Harmon, Asst. Dist. Atty., for respondent.
At issue is the constitutionality of a police roadblock stop and seizure. Defendant, Felix Parms, filed a motion to suppress the evidence of intoxication obtained when his automobile was stopped May 3, 1986, at 2:43 A.M. on Louisiana Highway One South. The trial court denied the motion and the court of appeal denied a writ. This court granted certiorari and remanded to the court of appeal for an opinion. 1 A writ has been granted 2 to consider the judgment of the court of appeal, which affirmed the trial court. 3
At the hearing on the motion to suppress, the state produced two witnesses in its effort to prove the constitutionality of the seizure at this roadblock, Trooper Michael G. Harrell and Sergeant Robert A. Harrison of the Louisiana State Police.
Trooper Harrell described this as a DWI checkpoint manned by seven officers from the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's office and the Louisiana State Police. In addition to sobriety, the officers were checking drivers' licenses, proof of insurance, and inspection stickers. The roadblock had been set up about 12:30 A.M. and closed about 3:30 A.M.
Trooper Harrell did not know whether there was any advance warning to the public that a sobriety checkpoint was going to be established and did not know if Highway One had been studied in connection with frequency of drunken driving. According to his recollection, a study of areas with high accident rates had not targeted this section of Highway One.
Harrell had been advised by radio to report to the location and stop every car, but, when the officers were busy, some motorists were allowed to proceed. The length of detention for each car was up to the individual officer's discretion. There was no record of the number of vehicles that passed the roadblock, but nine or ten arrests were made. Harrell's instructions were to investigate any odor of alcohol, but he did not have a policy or manual to guide his conduct at the checkpoint.
Sergeant Robert A. Harrison of the Louisiana State Police stated that he was operating a police department van with equipment for testing intoxication. Although he was in charge of the roadblock, he did not arrive until after 2:00 A.M. Initially, Harrison said the main purpose of the roadblock was a drivers' license check, but it turned out to be more productive than anticipated with DWI's. Subsequently, he admitted that the real purpose of the roadblock was a sobriety check. The area was well lighted and had ample room for cars to be waived to the shoulder. According to Sergeant Harrison, his supervisors initiated the activity to keep the troopers busy and there was no prior warning to the citizens. There were no instructions or policy for conducting the checkpoint. The individual officers had discretion to wave cars on if they were busy. Drivers' license roadblocks are periodically located throughout the parishes, but this roadblock required a little more care as to lighting and space. Sergeant Harrison had participated in only one DWI roadblock like this.
Trooper Harrell stopped Felix Parms' automobile and asked for his driver's license. Parms' driving had not appeared impaired or erratic. Detecting the odor of alcohol, Trooper Harrell directed Parms' automobile to the shoulder of the road and asked Parms to step to the rear of the automobile so that Harrell could determine if the odor came from Parms or the other people in the car. Parms emitted a strong odor of alcohol; his eyes were bloodshot; his speech slurred; and his stance unsteady. After Miranda warnings and a field sobriety test, Trooper Harrell determined that Parms was highly intoxicated and placed him under arrest for driving while intoxicated. Harrell then took Parms to the intoximeter van and advised him of his rights. Parms consented to the test 4 and registered .22.
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. 5 The Louisiana Constitution protects against unreasonable searches, seizures and invasions of privacy. 6
Under Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 99 S.Ct. 2637, 61 L.Ed.2d 357 (1979), seizures are reasonable only if there are neutral limitations on the discretion of the field officers. Other factors to be weighed are: (1) the gravity of the problem; (2) the degree to which the seizure serves the public concern; and (3) the extent of the interference with individual liberty.
Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979) held that random spot checks of motorists without articulable and reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity were unreasonable seizures under the Fourth Amendment. Because an individual's expectation of privacy is not abandoned upon entrance into an automobile, a motorist's freedom cannot be interferred with even for a limited time at the unbridled discretion of police officers. Absent an articulable basis for reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, Prouse prohibits regulatory automobile inspections unless there are previously established "neutral criteria" 7 which prevent the unconstrained exercise of discretion by field officers. In dicta Prouse says that: "Questioning of all oncoming traffic at roadblock-type stops is one possible alternative" [to random stops]. 8
Many other states have considered the constitutionality of roadblocks. Oregon 9 and New Hampshire 10 have held sobriety roadblocks unconstitutional under their state constitutions. The state constitutions of Texas, 11 Pennsylvania 12 and California 13 do not allow combination dragnet stops.
Nelson v. Lane County, 304 Or. 97, 743 P.2d 692 (1987) decided that a sobriety roadblock conducted under the direction of a supervisory officer, which stopped all drivers except when traffic became congested, informed motorists of the checkpoint's purpose, and asked for drivers' licenses and vehicle registrations was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Therefore, plaintiff could not receive punitive damages under the federal civil rights act for her detention. However, under the Oregon Constitution, the stop and seizure were unlawful because they were used to gather evidence of criminal activity without prior individualized suspicion of wrongdoing. The matter was remanded for plaintiff to develop her claim for damages under other theories. Thus, the roadblock was found to pass federal constitutional muster but failed under the stricter standard applied in Oregon.
State v. Boyanovsky, 304 Or. 131, 743 P.2d 711 (1987) held that defendant's detention and the search of his person and documents at a sobriety checkpoint were unconstitutional, because the Oregon constitution bars criminal sanctions when there is a search or seizure without prior individualized suspicion of criminal activity. Also see State v. Anderson, 304 Or. 139, 743 P.2d 715 (1987).
State v. Koppel, 127 N.H. 286, 499 A.2d 977 (1985) was based on the New Hampshire Constitution which, like Oregon, has language similar to the federal constitution but has been held to provide greater protection for individual rights than the Fourth Amendment. In Koppel, 47 sobriety roadblocks were set up and 1,680 vehicles were stopped, but only 18 DWI arrests were made. During the same six months, 175 DWI arrests were made by the traditional use of roving patrols. In Koppel, every car was stopped until five cars had been detained at which time other traffic was allowed to pass until one of the five left the roadblock.
Delaware v. Prouse, supra, was distinguished in Koppel as involving a regulatory check not aimed at discovering evidence of serious criminal offenses. In view of the small percentage of drunk drivers arrested, the Koppel court concluded that roadblocks are not any more effective in detecting drunk drivers than less intrusive methods. The utility of these roadblocks as a deterrent to drunken driving was lessened by the lack of advance publicity. Noting the danger of police state procedures which generate concern and fright on the part of lawful travelers, the Koppel court concluded that the state failed to prove that DWI roadblocks produce sufficient public benefit to outweigh their intrusion on individual rights. 14
After Koppel, the New Hampshire legislature provided for judicial authorization of sobriety checkpoints on the basis of objective criteria with general notice to the public but no disclosure of specific locations. This legislation was found to pass constitutional muster. Opinion of the Justices, 128 N.H. 14, 509 A.2d 744 (1986). 15
In Webb v. State, 739 S.W.2d 802 (Tex.Cr.App.1987) there was no evidence that the officers manning the roadblock were acting according to neutral criteria. The court concluded that a combination stop violates the Fourth Amendment and the Texas Constitution. In dicta, Webb said a roadblock established solely for determining sobriety might be constitutionally permissible. However, this roadblock lacked operational guidelines and safeguards to protect motorists from unreasonable seizures and was a subterfuge for a general investigatory sweep of motorists in the area. It was aimed at any and all illegal activity.
Com. v. Tarbert, 348 Pa.Super 306, 502 A.2d 221 (1985) held that under the Pennsylvania Constitution:
"[P]olice roadblocks, which, without probable cause or a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been or is being committed, stop all vehicles travelling on a public highway for the purposes of checking licenses, registrations, inspection violations, and for drivers operating vehicles under the influence of alcohol are so violative...
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