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Article: Improbable cause.(The San Jose Mercury News)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- November 30, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The following editorial appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday, November 29, 2000.
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There's a saying that the U.S. Supreme Court has never run into a police roadblock it didn't like. Checkpoints to intercept drunken drivers? Sure. Stops to verify the licenses and registrations of motorists? Fine. Highway blockades near the border to snatch illegal immigrants? Those are legal too.
It looked as if law enforcement agents could use random roadblocks for any reason. Constitutional guarantees against unreasonable searches and seizures didn't appear to protect innocent people who happened to be on the wrong road at the wrong time.
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