CALIFORNIA DUI SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS
As many of you who may have experienced, Sobriety checkpoints are temporary roadblocks on public streets designed to snare drunk drivers and cite others for violations of the Vehicle Code. Although DUI Sobriety Checkpoints are legal, the courts have established strict guidelines to govern the operation of sobriety checkpoints. Anyone arrested for DUI at a sobriety checkpoint should contact Law Offices of Tony Forberg to determine whether the checkpoint was operated according to these guidelines.
The law requires Sobriety checkpoints to be established pursuant to certain guidelines to be held valid. A sobriety checkpoint must be announced to the public in advance and set up by command law enforcement officers, not officers in the field. Vehicles must be selected using a neutral mathematical formula, and the checkpoints must be maintained safely for both police and motorists, have high visibility, and minimize the average time each motorist is detained.
Each motorist who has been stopped should be detained only long enough for the officer to question the driver briefly and to look for signs of intoxication, such as alcohol on the breath, slurred speech, and glassy or bloodshot eyes. If the driver does not display signs of impairment, he or she should be permitted to drive on without further delay. If the officer does observe signs of impairment, the driver may be directed to a separate area for a field sobriety test. At that point, further investigation must be based on probable cause, and general principles of detention and arrest would apply.
The Supreme Court has held that the primary purpose of a sobriety checkpoint is not to discover evidence of crime or to make arrests of drunk drivers, but to promote public safety by deterring intoxicated persons from driving and endangering the public. Therefore, the Courts have held that a sobriety checkpoint roadblock serves a regulatory purpose and is not considered a criminal investigation roadblock, and therefore no warrant is required.
The next question is whether such seizures are reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. It has been determined that not all roadblocks violate the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. In order to determine whether there has been a Fourth Amendment violation, courts apply a balancing test which weighs the governments interests against the intrusiveness of the detention on the individual.
In order to determine whether a sobriety checkpoint was operated within legal guidelines, an experienced DUI lawyer will evaluate every aspect of the checkpoint to determine whether it met the established guidelines. If the checkpoint was not operated properly, the attorney may be able to demonstrate to the court that the evidence obtained to prove your guilt was improperly obtained, and should be suppressed.
If you have more questions, contact our office for free consultation.
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