Ascher v. Commissioner of Public Safety

505 N.W.2d 362, 1993 WL 326926
Court of Appeals of Minnesota·Decided October 28, 1993·No. C3-93-364·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinions

OPINION

PARKER, Judge

Appellant Ricky Ascher argues that Fourth Amendment violations occurred when he was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint where television media were invited and present. He also argues that sobriety checkpoints violate article I, section 10, of the Minnesota Constitution. We reverse.

FACTS

On August 14-15, 1992, the Burnsville Police Department, the Dakota County Sheriffs Department, and the Minnesota State Patrol conducted a sobriety checkpoint on Highway 13 at Nicollet Avenue in the City of Burns-ville, Minnesota.

All vehicles traveling westbound on Highway 13 and northbound on Nicollet Avenue were diverted into the pre-screening area. Those drivers displaying signs of possible intoxication were directed into the final screening area to perform field sobriety tests. The other drivers were permitted to leave the testing site. The officers checked 975 vehicles between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. and made 14 DWI arrests.

The media was invited to attend the sobriety checkpoint, and two local television stations sent camera crews to film the event. As long as they did not interfere with the police, the crews were free to film all areas of the checkpoint. The extent of the media’s [364] presence is evidenced by this excerpt from the testimony of Jay Swanson, a lieutenant with the Minnesota State Patrol.

Q: Now, did you contact the local TV stations in this case?
A: Yes, we did. Every television station in the Twin Cities area was contacted.
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Q: And the television crews that showed up, they had them cameras and they had them lights and they did some filming at the roadblock, did they not?
A: Yes, they did.
Q: You didn’t restrict what the television crews could shoot, did you?
A: No, sir, I didn’t.
* ⅜ * ⅜ * ⅜
Q: Now, the TV film crews, they were free to film the people driving through the checkpoint, is that right?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: And they were also free to film the drivers that were diverted to the final screening area, correct?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: So they were free to film the people that were being tested for their state of sobriety?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: And they were free to film the drivers actually performing these field sobriety tests, correct?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: And the film crews were present at the checkpoint at your invitation, is that right?
A: Yes, sir.

Appellant Ricky Ascher arrived at the checkpoint and was diverted to the final screening area, where he failed several field sobriety tests. Ascher also failed the preliminary breath test. He was then brought back to the police station, where he refused to take the Intoxilyzer test. Ascher’s driver’s license was subsequently revoked pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 169.123, subd. .4 (1992), the implied consent statute.

By petition for judicial review of the revocation, Ascher challenged the revocation on several grounds. After a hearing and briefing by the parties, the trial court sustained the revocation of Ascher’s license in an order dated January 21, 1993. Appeal is from this order.1

ISSUES

I. Was the sobriety checkpoint reasonable under Michigan Dep’t of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444, 110 S.Ct. 2481, 110 L.Ed.2d 412 (1990)?

II. Does the sobriety checkpoint violate article I, § 10, of the Minnesota Constitution?

DISCUSSION

I

The United States Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of seizures made pursuant to sobriety checkpoint roadblocks in Michigan Dep’t of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444, 110 S.Ct. 2481, 110 L.Ed.2d 412 (1990). The Court held that a Fourth Amendment seizure occurs during such a stop. Id. at 448, 110 S.Ct. at 2485. In determining whether the seizure was reasonable, the Court did not require individualized suspicion that the specific driver was intoxicated. Id. at 456, 110 S.Ct. at 2488 (Brennan, J., dissenting). Instead, the Court used the balancing test set out in Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 50-51, 99 S.Ct. 2637, 2640, 61 L.Ed.2d 357 (1979):

[T]he reasonableness of seizures that are less intrusive than a traditional arrest * * * depends “ ‘on a balance between the public interest and the individual’s right to personal security free from arbitrary interference by law officers.’ ” * * * Consideration of the constitutionality of such seizures involves a weighing of the gravity of the public concerns served by the seizure, [365] the degree to which the seizure advances the public interest, and the severity of the interference with individual liberty.

1. Gravity of Public Concern

With respect to the gravity of public concern, the Sitz Court stated, “[n]o one can seriously dispute the magnitude of the drunken driving problem or the States’ interest in eradicating it.” 496 U.S. at 448-49, 110 S.Ct. at 2485. See also State v. Muzik, 379 N.W.2d 599, 602 (Minn.App.1985) (“effects of drunk driving are grave and the public interest served by the checkpoint is great”). Ascher does not challenge the serious nature of the drunk driving problem or the state’s interest in eradicating it. We conclude the first prong of the Broum test is satisfied.

2. Degree to which the Seizure Advances the Public Interest

The second prong of the Broum test requires that the seizure reasonably advance the public’s interest. Id.; Brown, 443 U.S. at 50-51, 99 S.Ct. at 2640. The Supreme Court in Sitz rejected the searching examination of the “effectiveness” of the roadblock undertaken by the lower court:

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Ascher v. Commissioner of Public Safety, 505 N.W.2d 362, 1993 WL 326926 (Mich. Ct. App. 1993).

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