Are DUI Checkpoints Constitutional?

[Southern Dad]

[eric]

I think they're dumb. Instead of going after drunk drivers we should make sure people get home safe. Most people aren't intentionally trying to harm anybody or anything, so the level of intensity that the public places on drunk driving is pretty unwarranted.

[Dylan]

I don't see how they could be constitutional but I'm guessing there's an argument out there in favor of them.

[eynon81]

SCOTUS said they were back in 1990, their convoluted logic boiled down to a person not having all that high of an expectation of privacy when they drove on a public highway, blah, blah, blah. Same logic for immigration check-points. What our friend in Florida did was to not give the Officers any reasonable suspicion that anything illegal was going on; they did not observe bad driving, he provided he's papers, etc. By not rolling down his window he did not give the cops the opportunity to "smell alcohol" thereby creating reasonable suspicion to go down the DUI rabbit hole.


ALL THAT SAID...it's been my experience that cops use a lot of discretion in re DUIs. The vast majority of the hundreds of DUI cases I've handled either involved accidents, refusals, or way high BACs. I think I've had maybe one .08 that didn't involve an accident. Shows me they are showing mercy on the buzzed drivers.

[eynon81]

[Professor]

Got a question - why WOULDN'T this work if you are drunk and driving and get pulled over?

Pull car over. Turn keys off and put the keys in the seat. Step out of the car (or, if you remain inside the car, hold a NEW bottle of alcohol out the window and break the seal on it). Begin drinking vodka/rum/whiskey/etc. like it's going out of style (as much as you can handle). Be sure that it was a NEW bottle that you just opened.

How is the officer going to prove that you were drinking BEFORE you were pulled over? Sure, you may get a public intoxication and a traffic ticket. But, that's about it.

[eynon81]

[Professor]

Good to know!

I'll have to put a 5th in the car alongside the bottle of water I keep in there.

The water is for regular speeding. If I get pulled over, I pour a little in my crotch and tell the officer that I really had to go, and was trying to make it home. Worked twice so far. First cop gave me a sympathetic look and sent me on my way. The second one snickered a bit and sent me home.

[Winchester]

[eynon81]