State v. Griffin, 749 S.E.2d 444

Night 5 January 2009, Trooper Casner at a marked license checkpoint on Highway 306 observed traffic near the checkpoint.
Defendant approached the checkpoint, stopped in the middle of the road, and began a left turn onto the shoulder, seemingly attempting to evade the checkpoint.
Casner stopped defendant before the turn was completed and detected the odor of alcohol on the driver.
Defendant was charged with driving while impaired; defendant moved to suppress the stop as based on an unconstitutional checkpoint.
Trial court ruled the checkpoint valid and denied suppression; Court of Appeals reversed overturning the suppression ruling and vacated the judgment, without addressing whether reasonable suspicion existed independent of the checkpoint.
The Supreme Court held the stop was constitutional based on reasonable suspicion; the constitutionality of the checkpoint itself was not decided and case remanded for factual findings on checkpoint validity

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was there reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle	State: evasion of checkpoint gave basis for stop	Griffin: no independent basis; the turn alone was not suspicious	Yes; stop supported by reasonable suspicion under totality of circumstances
Should the checkpoint's validity be decided in this appeal	State: checkpoint validity should be considered	Griffin: checkpoint validity must be resolved first	No; remand to determine checkpoint constitutionality and statutory validity

State v. Barnard, 362 N.C. 244, 658 S.E.2d 643 (2008) (reasonable suspicion standard for traffic stops)
State v. Foreman, 351 N.C. 627, 527 S.E.2d 921 (2000) (checkpoints may be constitutional if neutral, articulable; time/place/manner facts matter)
United States v. Smith, 396 F.3d 579 (4th Cir. 2005) (evading a checkpoint can contribute to reasonable suspicion)
Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444 (1990) (balancing test for DWIs checkpoints)
Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47 (1979) (general framework for stop and investigative seizures under balancing)