Williams v. State – Roadblock policy must be Constitutional for roadblock to legal
Williams v. State, S13G0178, October 21, 2013. In a DUI arrest from Macon, Georgia, a Bibb County DUI roadblock was declared Unconstitutional by Georgia Supreme Court because the Bibb County Sheriff’s Department policy sanctioned roadblocks for general crime deterrence. The Bibb County Sheriff’s Department policy stated, ” Vehicle Roadblocks- Vehicles may also be stopped at general roadblocks which serve legitimate law enforcement purposes. If evidence of a crime is observed, an officer has the right to take reasonable investigative steps.” Edmonds v. City of Indianapolis prohibits roadblocks that are established for general crime deterrence and must be limited to legitimate primary purposes such as Sobriety, license, and proof of insurance and must be implemented at the programmatic level and not by officers in the field.
