Unconstitutional Police Checkpoints

The city’s solution for violence in the Trinidad neighborhood has plenty of heart but no brains. The problem isn’t just that people are able to easily avoid the checkpoints, but it’s also that the checkpoints are baldly unconstitutional. Has D.C. suddenly turned into Baghdad? Do we have to set up a Green Zone so that Mayor Fenty and Police Chief Cathy Lanier can safely administer the affairs of the city? Of course not. Crime and violencein some D.C. neighborhoods are undoubtedly bad, but the city needs to stay within the bounds of reason — and the Constitution — while solving the problem.