August 1996
Rep. Gorman's NH legislation blocks sobriety checkpoints
Random drunken-driving roadblocks vanished from New Hampshire in mid-June thanks to the first Libertarian-sponsored legislation to become law at the state level in more than a decade.
House Bill 1285, introduced by Libertarian State Rep. Don Gorman of Deerfield, requires police to get permission from a judge before setting up drunken-driving roadblocks, and requires the judge to affirm that "all constitutional guarantees are met."
"This effectively means that there won't be another sobriety roadblock in New Hampshire," Gorman said.
The bill passed the State House by a voice vote in March, and the State Senate in April. It became law when Republican Gov. Steve Merrill did not sign or veto the bill within five days.
Random drunken-driving roadblocks are "no question, unconstitutional," Gorman said, explaining why he filed the measure.
"Roadblocks of this type infringe on the right of law-abiding citizens to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The New Hampshire State Constitution, as interpreted by the State Supreme Court (State vs. Koppel,1985) clearly indicates that NH residents are entitled to greater protection against these types of 'no-reason' stops than is provided for in the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution," he said.
"It's about time that law enforcement learned that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are supreme in the land," said Gorman, the lone Libertarian legislator in New Hampshire's 400-member House.
In addition, sobriety checkpoints are not effective, Gorman argued. Citing New Hampshire's capital city Concord as an example, Gorman noted, "During a six-month period, the Concord police department conducted 47 checkpoints, making 1,680 stops and 18 arrests for DWI [Driving While Intoxicated]. During the same period, routine patrols using traditional methods arrested 175 for DWI.
"Some of our bigger cities such as Nashua don't use these roadblocks at all," he said, "which really calls into question their perceived usefulness by the law enforcement community. And though some have cited their use as a deterrent, the bill's intent is to clearly reject that approach and instead side in favor of the privacy rights of law-abiding citizens. The bottom line is that checkpoints are both ineffective and unconstitutional. And they're expensive as hell to boot."
National Libertarian Party Chair Steve Dasbach applauded Gorman's achievement, calling it a victory for civil liberties in America and for Libertarian political action.
"Passage of the bill helps take the Libertarian Party to the next level, from electoral victory to successful Libertarian legislation. That's how we will change this country -- town by town, state by state, issue by issue," Dasbach said.
The last Libertarian-sponsored state-level legislation was voted into law in Alaska in the early 1980s.
