Commonwealth v. Mercado

The Commonwealth appeals from the order of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, affirming the order of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, which granted the motion to suppress evidence that Appellee, Malik Mercado was found to be driving under the influence ("DUI") of a controlled substance, marijuana, when stopped by Philadelphia police at a roadblock checkpoint. 1 After careful review, we conclude that the police substantially complied with the T arbert / Blouse 2 guidelines adopted by our Supreme Court to establish the constitutionality of a DUI roadblock. Specifically, the selection of a…