KINMUNDY — Motorists traveling southbound on Interstate 57 near Kinmundy Tuesday morning drove through a drug interdiction checkpoint — the first-ever in Marion County — even though the U.S. Supreme Court has taken a dim view of similar efforts.

    Marion County Sheriff Jerry Devore said the sign warning motorists of a drug interdiction checkpoint ahead just before southbound traffic reached the the Kinmundy-Patoka exit — or milepost 127 — was only up for about 90 minutes before being taken down.

    Devore admitted the sign was a ruse to get drug-possessing suspects off the interstate at an isolated exit with no services.

    “Anyone from out of state would have no reason to pull off,” Devore said. Once off the interstate, deputies looked for Illinois Vehicle Code violations as a reason to initiate a traffic stop. Once the vehicles were stopped, deputies were able to look for drugs or other illegal items.

    Motorists who stayed on the interstate were not subject to being stopped as a result of the checkpoint.

    Effingham County Sheriff’s Department deputies have played the game as well. A checkpoint at the I-57 Watson-Mason exit in late 1998 yielded the conviction of a Florida man for possessing more than 5,000 grams of marijuana — a conviction that was thrown out by the 5th District Appellate Court in 2002.

    Devore said this first checkpoint didn’t yield any drug suspects.

    “We did get one driver who had a revoked license,” he said. “I don’t know if it was the time of the day, or day of the week.

    “There just wasn’t much going on,” he added. “Hopefully, the next time, we’ll be more successful.”

    Devore said he initiated the checkpoint in response to suspected drug trafficking through the county.

    “Our desire is to take these drugs off the street,” Devore said. “Sometimes on drug stops, you find cash or guns that can be seized.”

    But Ed Johnka, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said Devore is crossing a line established in 2000 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Indianapolis v. Edmond. In that case, the high court found random drug checkpoints violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

    “The idea that someone is engaged in some sort of illegal activity simply because they are present on a highway should be troubling to all citizens because we are all part of the traveling public,” Johnka said.  “We’ve always believed people have an affirmative right to avoid contact with the police.”

    Johnka said random drug checkpoints have been proven ineffective anyway.

    “Police are wasting their time with this type of activity instead of targeting people who are known to be engaged in criminal behavior,” he said.

    Moreover, he said, random drug checkpoints can lead to racial profiling.

    “What ends up happening is we start stopping people with similar physical characteristics,” Johnka said. “The notion that you can predict criminal activity based on physical appearance can lead to racial profiling.”

    But Marion County’s Devore said he plans additional drug checkpoints sometime in the future.

    “Nothing has been said that convinces me that what I am doing is wrong,” he said.

    Southern Illinois appellate judges have shown a propensity to disagree with the legality of drug checkpoints. In a decision dated Feb. 11, 2002, the 5th District Appellate Court in Mount Vernon threw out the 1999 conviction of Brett W. Ray.

    Ray had been convicted of possessing more than 5,000 grams of marijuana after being stopped at a drug checkpoint conducted by Effingham County sheriff’s deputies on Dec. 14, 1998. Even though deputies found more than 120 pounds of marijuana in Ray’s van, the appellate court threw out his subsequent conviction on grounds his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search were violated.

    “... the public interest is outweighed by the intrusive nature of the drug checkpoint,” according to the court.

    Fifth District appellate justices added in the decision that because the stop was illegal, the subsequent search and seizure was likewise invalid — leaving the state without a case.

    Bill Grimes can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 132 or bill.grimes@effinghamdailynews.com