The Fairfield Glade Police Department, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, and the Crossville Police Department will conduct sobriety checkpoints on Friday, February 16, 2024, starting at 6 p.m. and ending at 2 a.m. Saturday. The checkpoints may be located on Peavine Road, Lantana Road, and Highway 70.

So why does law enforcement release information regarding when and where sobriety checkpoints will take place?

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the checkpoints are constitutional as long as it is announced when and where it will take place.

In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that, despite their “intrusion on individual liberties,” being stopped at a DUI checkpoint does not violate a person’s Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. 

Before the 1990 ruling, several Michigan drivers filed suit against the state after being arrested in a DUI roadblock. The drivers argued that, because they were stopped without reason, their arrests violated the Fourth Amendment and were therefore unconstitutional. After reviewing the case, the Michigan State Supreme Court agreed with the drivers and ruled in their favor—but that changed once the case was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a split ruling, the federal court overruled the Michigan Court’s decision and determined that DUI checkpoints were, indeed, legal under federal law. Despite finding that roadblocks did meet the Fourth Amendment’s definition of an unreasonable seizure, the court found that, due to the threat a drunk driver imposes on other motorists, they were a necessary means of protection.

Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to leave it up to each state to determine whether law officers could use DUI checkpoints to apprehend suspected drunk drivers. Following this ruling, eleven states (Texas, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Alaska, Iowa, and Rhode Island) passed laws to prohibit the checkpoints, while the remaining states including Tennessee continued to allow them.