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MI: PBT to underage drinkers was a search, and ordinance authorizing it was unconstitutional

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Administering PBT to minors suspected of underage drinking as permitted by a city ordinance was a search without any permissible exceptions. While local federal courts which held other city's ordinances were not binding, they were persuasive. People v. Chowdhury, 2009 Mich. App. LEXIS 1842 (September 10, 2009): The decisions in Spencer and Platte are both well-reasoned and consistent with existing Fourth Amendment law. Accordingly, we find Spencer and Platte to be persuasive, see Abela, 469 Mich at 607, and conclude that Troy Ordinance § 98.10.03 is unconstitutional on its face. Moreover, we agree with the Spencer court that "[t]here is nothing 'special' in the need of law enforcement to detect evidence of ordinary criminal wrongdoing," and that "'reasonableness generally requires the obtaining of a judicial warrant...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 15, 2009 (boomark / email).