Roadblocks
This letter is regarding the constitutionality of sobriety roadblocks.
As a conservative Orange County resident actively engaged in law enforcement for the last 13 years, I have rarely agreed with anything the American Civil Liberties Union has proposed.
However, on the issue of sobriety roadblocks I find myself in total agreement with the ACLU position. While I, too, like the ACLU, recognize the problems caused by drunk drivers, I cannot agree with the indiscriminate stopping of motorists without probable cause and subjecting them to unreasonable searches. The whole sobriety checkpoint system lends itself to the deprivation of individual liberty and the compelling of people to furnish evidence that can later be used against them.
Historically, courts have prohibited law enforcement fishing expeditions. I believe that this classic example of a fishing expedition must also be eliminated.
MICHAEL J. RYERSON
Orange
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
