No Breath Tests for Non-Motorists

In a case that's been winding its way through the courts for some time now, a federal judge has ruled that a Michigan law allowing police to force minors who weren't driving an automobile to take an alcohol breath test violates the Fourth Amendment.

One of the plaintiffs in the case, Katie Platte, had attended a party for a friend who had just enlisted in the Marines and was headed to Iraq. Police broke up the party, and told attendants they'd go to jail if they refused to take a breath test.

Another plaintiff, Ashley Berden, inadvertently left her purse behind when leaving a post-prom party. A police unit called the "Party Patrol" later broke the party up, and forced attendees to take breath tests. Finding Berden's purse, police then went to Berden's parents' home, woke her and her family at 4 am, and demanded she take a breath test—all without a warrant. She blew .00, then sued.