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State v. Hicks9/11/2001
The primary issue in this case is whether drivers' license roadblocks are constitutionally reasonable under Article I, section 7 of the Tennessee Constitution. After officers stopped the appellant at a drivers' license checkpoint, they discovered marijuana in the front seat of his car. The appellant later successfully moved to suppress the evidence, arguing that the roadblock did not conform to this Court's decision in State v. Downey, 945 S.W.2d 102 (Tenn. 1997). The State appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals, which reversed the trial court and found that the roadblock was constitutionally reasonable. We granted permission to appeal and hold that the roadblock in this case was established and operated contrary to Article I, section 7 and our decision in Downey. We reverse the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Tenn. R. App. P. 11 Application for Permission to Appeal; Judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals Reversed; Indictment Dismissed
William M. Barker, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Janice M. Holder, J., joined. E. Riley Anderson, C.J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., J., joined. Frank F. Drowota, III, J., filed a concurring and dissenting opinion.
OPINION
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
At 1:15 a.m. on October 11, 1997, the appellant, Larry Allen Hicks, was stopped at a roadblock on Suck Creek Road near the Hamilton County and Marion County line. This roadblock, which was established ostensibly as a drivers' license roadblock pursuant to General Order 410 of the Department of Safety, was conducted by six police officers, including two officers each from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Chattanooga Police Department, and the Red Bank Police Department. One of the Chattanooga officers was a K-9 officer, and another officer carried a picture of a suspect known as the "North Chattanooga rapist."
After stopping the appellant's car, Officer Penny of the Red Bank Police Department requested to see the appellant's license. During this time, one officer on the scene detected the smell of marijuana coming from the appellant's car, and the K-9 officer walked his dog around the car to sniff for drugs. When the dog alerted that drugs were present, the officers placed the appellant under arrest and called their supervisor, Lieutenant Ronnie Hill of the highway patrol, to the scene of the stop. A subsequent search of the appellant's car uncovered five pounds of marijuana in the passenger seat. Neither of the highway patrol officers personally participated in the appellant's stop or arrest.
Following his arrest, the appellant moved to suppress the evidence against him, alleging that the stop was unreasonable under Article I, section 7 of the Tennessee Constitution and that it represented an arbitrary intrusion into his reasonable expectation of privacy. At the hearing on the motion held on November 10, 1998, the appellant called one of the officers, Sergeant Gregory Short, to testify as to the details of the roadblock. Officer Short stated that the officers did not provide any advance publicity concerning the roadblock, that they did not post any signs warning approaching motorists of the roadblock, and that they did not use any orange safety cones to direct traffic. He also testified that none of the officers was wearing a safety vest or carrying an illuminated baton as was otherwise required by General Order 410 for night roadblocks. According to Officer Short, the only evidence that a roadblock was in operation was the presence of the officers and the two highway patrol cars. Finally, Officer Short testified that officers other than those with the highway patrol stopped cars to reque
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