State v. Sanchez

The question presented in this case is whether the State’s initial seizure of appel-lee Juan Enrique Sanchez at a Department of Public Safety highway checkpoint was “reasonable” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Because the opinion of the plurality reaches the correct result but only after an incomplete and partially-incorrect analysis, I concur only in the judgment of the Court.

The Facts

The relevant facts are not in dispute. At approximately 8:45 a.m. on April 30, 1987, four Department of Public Safety (D.P.S.) troopers, acting on their own…