Abstract
With the recent escalation of terrorist attacks against the United States, the prevention of crime in general has become a top priority for most American. A question arises, however, as to what sacrifices to our personal liberties we have to make to effectively prevent criminal activity? As indicated by Missouri Supreme Court’s holding in State v. Mack, the answer may very well be sacrificing our coveted Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The United States Supreme Court declared drug checkpoints illegal because they were pursuing general crime control purposes, but Mack seems to find a way to circumvent that holding. The holding Mack allows police to create deceptive checkpoints to pursue general crime control purposes, something which the United States Supreme Court has specifically prohibited. This Note examines the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision in Mack, considers how the majority came to its conclusion, and considers the policy implication of this questionable decision.
Recommended Citation
Kathryn L. Howard,
Stop in the Name of that Checkpoint: Sacrificing Our Fourth Amendment Right in Order to Prevent Criminal Activity - State v. Mack,
68 Mo. L. Rev.
(2003)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr/vol68/iss2/5