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Group Sues To Block D.C. Vehicle Checks

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The Associated Press

Published: June 21, 2008

WASHINGTON - A civil liberties group filed a lawsuit Friday seeking an injunction against the District of Columbia police department's vehicle checkpoint program, calling the "military-style" initiative unconstitutional and ineffective.

The class-action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington by the Partnership for Civil Justice on behalf of four D.C. residents who were stopped by the checkpoints this month in the city's Trinidad neighborhood.

The checkpoints were in effect in Trinidad for six days beginning June 7. The initiative requires officers to check drivers' ID and turn away those who don't have a "legitimate purpose" in the area, such as a doctor's appointment or church visit. Police have said the checkpoints could be used in other areas that experience a surge in violence.

The lawsuit also asks the court to throw out data that police collected on law-abiding citizens who were stopped at the checkpoints.

"The District's military-style roadblock system ... is neither constitutional, nor effective," the lawsuit states. "There is an urgent need to tackle the problems of violence, street crime, unemployment and education. This roadblock does not address any of them."

Police say they turned away 46 of the more than 700 vehicles that tried to pass through checkpoints. One person was arrested for driving with alcohol. The neighborhood had no shootings while the checkpoints were in place.

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