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Crandol v. City of Newport News11/10/1989
In this case, we review the legality of a roadblock established to check the sobriety of motor vehicle operators.
Pursuant to an administrative decision by the local police department, on Friday, November 28, 1986, at approximately 10:00 p.m., police officers established a roadblock on Warwick Boulevard in the City of Newport News (the City). The roadblock was intended as a sobriety checkpoint for motor vehicle operators. Orange cones were placed in the southbound lanes of Warwick Boulevard "as far back as Middlesex Road." The evidence in this case is reflected in a statement of facts which does not disclose how far Middlesex Road was from the roadblock. Signs with flashing lights warned approaching motorists of the sobriety checkpoint.
All officers who manned the roadblock had previously attended a 24-hour training course on the sobriety checkpoint program. The police officer who devised the checkpoint plan and at least one police lieutenant were present to supervise its operation. Marked police cars were parked in the area and all officers wore uniforms, as well as reflective vests.
All vehicles were stopped in a well-lighted area in front of a stadium parking lot, which provided parking space for motor vehicles whose operators' condition warranted further investigation. Each operator was asked to produce his driver's license and vehicle registration at the roadblock, and was questioned about the possible consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Each southbound vehicle which approached the checkpoint was stopped. Whenever traffic backed up to Middlesex Road, the roadblock was suspended and all vehicles were allowed to proceed until the traffic had cleared, at which time the roadblock resumed.
At 10:58 p.m., the defendant, Donald Edward Crandol, was stopped at the roadblock and routinely questioned by Officer J. W. Duckworth. Duckworth noticed a slight odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle and a redness and glassiness about Crandol's eyes. He directed Crandol to park his vehicle in the stadium parking lot, where Crandol told Duckworth that he had consumed four drinks earlier in the evening. Duckworth then administered seven field sobriety tests; Crandol failed six. After Duckworth arrested Crandol and charged him with driving under the influence of alcohol, Crandol elected to take a breath test which showed that his blood alcohol content was .13. This amount raised a presumption of Crandol's intoxication. See Code § 18.2-269.
Upon conviction in the general district court, Crandol appealed to the circuit court. During the hearing of the evidence before the circuit court, sitting without a jury, Crandol moved to suppress the evidence obtained at the roadblock. He claimed that the roadblock was an unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The circuit court overruled Crandol's motion and convicted him as charged. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction by order. The sole issue in this appeal is whether the trial court erred in denying Crandol's suppression motion.
[1-2] We have dealt with the constitutionality of roadblocks in two recent cases. In Simmons v. Commonwealth, 238 Va. 200, 204, 380 S.E.2d 656, 659 (1989), we found that a roadblock violated
the defendant's constitutional rights, and in Lowe v. Commonwealth, 230 Va. 346, 352, 337 S.E.2d 273, 277 (1985), we sustained the legality of t
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