MADD's early Christmas gift to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, 10 "alcohol sniffing flashlights," are not being used. That's because police are concerned about the reliability of the devices, which purport to be able to detect alcohol on a driver's breath. In addition, police aren't sure the results would hold up in court because the dubious test may not be constitutional.

Of course, that doesn't concern MADD. When Texas researchers created an in-car device that could alert police to any alcohol vapors in a car, MADD called it "a great idea," saying, "We're not as concerned with the legalities." MADD has also endorsed a Chicago area county's plan to seize the automobiles of blood alcohol content (BAC) arrest limit violators, saying "they do this for drug busts, and alcohol is a drug." The group further displayed its contempt for civil liberties, as well as the judicial system, by calling for an Albuquerque, New Mexico, judge to resign because she criticized a MADD-backed program he felt violated the "constitutional rights of young adults."

MADD seems not to mind "unreasonable searches and seizures" in its crusade to denormalize any alcohol consumption. Maybe MADD should change its name to Mothers Against the Fourth Amendment.