I wrote a paper about motor vehicle checkpoints last year. It's available here. Once in a while, I get asked about so-called ruse checkpoints, a subject that I didn't address in the paper. A typical ruse checkpoint might work as follows. Officers deploy large, flashing temporary signs on a divided highway that say "drug checkpoint ahead" and warn that drug dogs are in use. In fact, there isn't a drug checkpoint ahead, since drug checkpoints are forbidden under City of Indianapolis v. Edmond, 531 U.S. 32 (2000) (holding that checkpoints may not be used for general crime control). However, shortly after the signs, there is an exit ramp. Officers closely watch any cars that use that ramp, on the theory that a disproportionate number of those vehicles will be carrying drugs and trying to evade what they think is an upcoming narcotics checkpoint. Officers won't stop a vehicle just for using the ramp, however, as that action alone probably doesn't rise to the level of reasonable suspicion. Instead, they'll look for motor vehicle violations that would justify a stop, or for drivers pitching items from their windows. Once they've made a stop, they may use drug-sniffing dogs or other means to determine whether drugs are present in the vehicle. See, e.g., United States v. Rodriguez-Lopez, 444 F.3d 1020 (8th Cir. 2006) (describing a "decoy checkpoint" similar to the foregoing). Is this procedure consistent with the Fourth Amendment? Courts generally have said that it is, even though it involves police representing that [...]
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