Tyrone Dixon v. State of Mississippi
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
OF THE
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 2001-KM-01109-COA
TYRONE DIXON
v.
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
APPELLANT
APPELLEE
DATE OF TRIAL COURT
JUDGMENT:
TRIAL JUDGE:
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED:
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT:
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE:
DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
NATURE OF THE CASE:
TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION:
DISPOSITION:
MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:
CERTIORARI FILED:
MANDATE ISSUED:
02/22/2001
HON. DALE HARKEY
GREENE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
PAMELA LUCKIE CASTLE
V.W. CARMODY JR.
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: BILLY L. GORE
ROBERT KEITH MILLER
CRIMINAL - MISDEMEANOR
FINE OF $350, TWO DAYS JAIL TIME SUSPENDED
FOR ONE YEAR
AFFIRMED - 10/15/2002
11/5/2002
BEFORE KING, P.J., IRVING, AND BRANTLEY, JJ.
KING, P.J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1. Tyrone Dixon was convicted by the Greene County Circuit Court of driving under the influence, first
offense. Aggrieved Dixon has appealed his conviction on the basis of a single issue, which we cite verbatim:
"The roadblock at which the appellant was stopped was unconstitutional and violated his rights under the
Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article 3 Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution."
STATEMENT OF FACTS
¶2. On April 30, 2000, Mississippi Highway Patrol Officer Todd Miller requested permission of his
supervisor to set up a vehicle checkpoint in Greene County on Highway 57. Officer Miller received
permission and the vehicle checkpoint was set up around 11:00 p.m. Miller was assisted at this checkpoint
by two officers of the Greene County Sheriff's Department. The purpose of the checkpoint was to check
for valid tags, inspection stickers, licenses and traffic violations. All vehicles were required to stop at the
checkpoint. However, no log was maintained of the cars or the activity at the checkpoint.
¶3. At approximately 11:25 p.m., Dixon was stopped by Officer Miller. According to Officer Miller; after
stopping Dixon, he noted that Dixon smelled of alcohol and that his eyes were "kind of blurry and stuff]."
When asked by Officer Miller if he had consumed any alcohol that night, Dixon responded that he had.
Dixon was then transported to the Greene County Sheriff's Department, where he consented to an
intoxilyzer test. The test showed Dixon's blood alcohol level to be .152 percent. Subsequently, Dixon was
charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, first offense.
¶4. On July 10, 2000, Dixon was convicted in the Justice Court of Greene County of driving under the
influence, first offense. He appealed that conviction to the Green County Circuit Court.
¶5. After the parties had rested, Dixon moved the court to exclude the results of the intoxilyzer test as being
the result of an illegal search and seizure conducted as a result of an unconstitutional roadblock. That
motion was denied, and the Greene County Circuit Court found Dixon guilty of driving under the influence,
first offense.
DISCUSSION
¶6. In reliance on Whren v. U.S., 517 U.S. 806 (1996), this Court has observed that the temporary
detention of an individual by the stopping of his vehicle is a seizure within the ambit of the Fourth
Amendment to the United States Constitution. Boyd v. State, 758 So. 2d 1032 (¶8) (Miss. Ct. App.
2000). Any such stop must therefore be reasonable. Id. The determination of what is reasonable under
these circumstances requires "a balance between the public interest and the individual right to personal
security free from arbitrary interference by law officers." Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 50, (1979). This
balance mandates "a weighing of the gravity of the public concerns served by the seizure, the degree to
which the seizure advances that public interest and the severity of the interference with individual belief."
Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 51, (1979).
¶7. Dixon asks this Court to find that the checkpoint in this case was unconstitutional in that it (1) did not
serve the public interest, (2) was not done in accordance with a standard procedure, and (3) unduly
interfered with his liberty. He suggests that these three failings render the stop unreasonable and therefore
unconstitutional.
¶8. The State has a legitimate interest in making certain (1) that the vehicles traveling upon its roads have
been properly licensed and inspected, and (2) that the persons driving those vehicles are properly licensed
to do so. Briggs v. State, 741 So. 2d 986 (¶8) (Miss. Ct. App. 1999). The establishment of a roadblock,
where all vehicles and drivers are stopped is an acceptable manner of achieving that interest. Id.
¶9. Nothing in the record presented to this Court demonstrates that a benevolent purpose was executed in
a malevolent manner. Nor is there anything in the record which indicates that this roadblock was executed
in an unreasonable or overly intrusive manner. Accordingly, this Court finds no merit in this issue.
¶10. THE JUDGMENT OF THE GREENE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT OF CONVICTION
OF DUI, FIRST OFFENSE, AND SENTENCE OF FORTY-EIGHT HOURS IN THE GREENE
COUNTY JAIL, SUSPENDED PENDING GOOD BEHAVIOR, AND PROBATION FOR ONE
YEAR, FINE OF $350, AND TO COMPLETE THE MASEP PROGRAM IS AFFIRMED.
COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO GREENE COUNTY.
McMILLIN, C.J., SOUTHWICK, P.J., BRIDGES, THOMAS, LEE, IRVING, MYERS,
CHANDLER AND BRANTLEY, JJ., CONCUR.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
