City of Indianapolis v. Edmond
Overview of the Supreme Court's Most Recent Roadblock Decision
In City of Indianapolis v. Edmond (2000), the U.S. Supreme Court issued a significant opinion on the question of the "constitutionality of a highway checkpoint program whose primary purpose is the discovery and interdiction of illegal narcotics." By a 6-to-3 decision, in an opinion written by Justice O’Connor, the Court has held that, as opposed to seizures for the purposes of combating drunk driving or illegal immigration, a roadblock conducted for the purpose of discovering and seizing illegal drugs is a violation of the Fourth Amendment.The challenged searches occurred during 1998. The City of Indianapolis conducted six roadblocks in which…
