Originally Posted by ralfp
So you would not have a problem with sitting in a 1 hour long traffic jam caused by a checkpoint? That's more than just inconvenient, it makes good citizens angry at the police. A 30-second wait could be seen as reasonable, but 1 hour (as has happened to me)?
Why not have cops on foot at parking lots (DMV, grocery stores, etc.) randomly ask people for driver's licenses when they park? That's a lot less inconvenient. [It's just an idea.]
(I am aware that the 3 hours in the quoted post was the duration of the checkpoint, not the wait).
Been there, done that, and was angry.
We're confusing issues.
A checkpoint that causes such a problem is incompetence, not a trampling of rights. Such incompetence is intolerable on management grounds.
There are, as you and others have pointed out in this thread, ways to get the job done without extreme inconvenience.
In general, I think we Americans have a tendency to mix up convenience and rights. We get all righteous about rights when the real issue is minutes of time. That's a management issue, not a 4th amendment issue.