Vehicle searches not in question

by Natalie Myers
Staff Writer

The validity of certain highway checkpoints has been contested in the Ohio and U.S. supreme courts during the past few months, but the court decisions will not affect searches in Athens.

Checkpoints set up to apprehend unlicensed drivers and seize illegal drugs have not been conducted in the Athens area, said Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Shawn Davis.

"The only types of checkpoints that we do are random vehicle inspection checkpoints and DUI sobriety checkpoints," Davis said. "We haven’t done [a DUI sobriety checkpoint] in this area, not in the two years I’ve been here."

At checkpoints, OSHP inspects the outside of a vehicle for any visible defects, such as condition of the tires and windshield, Davis said. Patrolmen also check for internal defects, such as the function of turn signals and headlights.

"[The purpose] is to make sure the complete function of vehicles is safe for highway driving," Davis said.

Lt. Gary Lewis, an OSHP spokesman, said the OSHP is constitutionally allowed to conduct DUI sobriety tests at checkpoints. Inspections are conducted 10 to 15 times annually with the aid of federal money.

"The purpose is to intersect and deter drunk driving," he said. "Officers must have some way to systematically check cars and log each one."

Athens Police Department Chief Richard Mayer said APD never has operated checkpoints in Athens.

Although OSHP and APD have confirmed they do not conduct driver’s license or illegal drug checkpoints in the Athens area, such checkpoints have stirred controversy in the court system.

In the case State v. Orr, the municipal court agreed with two Dayton men who said the checkpoints established by the city were intended to apprehend unlicensed drivers - not to promote roadway safety, according to the Jan. 10 oral argument summaries at http://www.sconet.state.oh.us.

These types of checkpoints were upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last November in Indianapolis v. Edmond, according to the opinion of the court at http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-1030.ZO.html.

The court’s decision did not, however, uphold checkpoints whose purpose was to seize illegal drugs and found such checkpoints in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures.