et al. Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz

The day before the checkpoint program was initiated, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in Wayne County Circuit Court on behalf of a group of licensed Michigan drivers opposed to sobriety checkpoints. The "Sitz" name in the case belonged to Rick Sitz, a state representative in Michigan's House. The petitioners sought an injunction against such checkpoints, and Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Michael L. Stacey granted it. Stacey questioned whether checkpoints were effective in deterring drunk drivers, and asserted that their power to strike fear in law-abiding citizens far outweighed any effectiveness factor. Still other opponents of the checkpoints argued that they were too costly; they required several officers and patrol cars in order to slow down, then stop drivers, and then more officers to conduct off-road sobriety tests; a similar detention rate of 1 percent could also be accomplished by two officers merely sitting in a parked patrol car observing traffic.