The State - News from Dec. 20, 1985

Checkpoints to stop cars and look for drunken drivers were ruled constitutional by an appeals court on the eve of the holiday season, in which the California Highway Patrol is planning roadblocks around the state. “Well-publicized, properly placed and timed sobriety checkpoints will have a significant deterrent effect on drunk driving,” said the 1st District Court of Appeal in a 2-1 decision announced in San Francisco. “ . . . Though intrusive and burdensome to the public even when properly conducted, the degree of intrusion is justified by the magnitude of the drunk-driving hazard and the potential for deterrence and detection.” Attorney Amitai Schwartz, who argued for the American Civil Liberties Union that the roadblocks are an unconstitutional invasion of privacy, said an appeal is planned to the state Supreme Court.