Cite as: 532 U. S. 318 (2001)
O'Connor, J., dissenting
was unable to produce her driver's license because it had been stolen, she gave Officer Turek her license number and address. Record 386. In addition, Officer Turek knew from their previous encounter that Atwater was a local resident.
The city's justifications fall far short of rationalizing the extraordinary intrusion on Gail Atwater and her children. Measuring "the degree to which [Atwater's custodial arrest was] needed for the promotion of legitimate governmental interests," against "the degree to which it intrud[ed] upon [her] privacy," Wyoming v. Houghton, 526 U. S., at 300, it can hardly be doubted that Turek's actions were disproportionate to Atwater's crime. The majority's assessment that "Atwater's claim to live free of pointless indignity and confinement clearly outweighs anything the City can raise against it specific to her case," ante, at 347, is quite correct. In my view, the Fourth Amendment inquiry ends there.
III
The Court's error, however, does not merely affect the disposition of this case. The per se rule that the Court creates has potentially serious consequences for the everyday lives of Americans. A broad range of conduct falls into the category of fine-only misdemeanors. In Texas alone, for example, disobeying any sort of traffic warning sign is a misdemeanor punishable only by fine, see Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 472.022 (1999 and Supp. 2000-2001), as is failing to pay a highway toll, see § 284.070, and driving with expired license plates, see § 502.407. Nor are fine-only crimes limited to the traffic context. In several States, for example, littering is a criminal offense punishable only by fine. See, e. g., Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 374.7 (West 1999); Ga. Code Ann. § 16- 7-43 (1996); Iowa Code §§ 321.369, 805.8(2)(af) (Supp. 2001).
To be sure, such laws are valid and wise exercises of the States' power to protect the public health and welfare. My concern lies not with the decision to enact or enforce these
371
Page: Index Previous 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007