Decriminalization: A New Consideration for the Fourth Amendment Balance

During the past several years Maine has reevaluated the wisdom of applying criminal sanctions to certain forms of conduct. In addition to the total abrogation of a number of crimes, the Maine Legislature has reduced the statutory classification of some offenses to civil violations. Moreover, certain newly established offenses have been limited to the status of civil violations. The designation of offenses as "civil" raises the question of what constitutional safeguards should be applied to the manner in which such violations are investigated and to the process under which civil sanctions are administered. This Comment will summarize the Supreme Court's interpretation of the fourth amendment's application to criminal and civil searches, emphasizing the balancing which must be done to determine the reasonableness of a search. The nature of the civil violation in Maine and some of the intrusions which might be used in the enforcement of civil violations will be examined in order to determine whether searches and seizures are a permissible method of enforcement. An approach will be suggested both for the judicial evaluation of the reasonableness of such searches in terms of the probable cause and warrant requirements, and for the legislative delineation of specific guidelines to limit the intrusiveness of civil violation enforcement efforts. In particular, the context of vehicle stops, and concomitant searches will be used to illustrate the problems that await such judicial or legislative solution.