Are DUI Checkpoints Constitutional?

[Southern Dad]

[eynon81]

[Saz]

[Professor]

TBH, I don't drink and drive anymore. My wife hardly ever drinks, so she's the DD most nights.

[eynon81]

[mike12345]

[quote="Southern Dad"]The driver in the silver minivan approaches slowly, coming to a stop beside a group of police officers manning Driving under influence checkpoint in Chiefland, Fla., a small town 40 miles east of Gainesville.

Instead of rolling down his window to chat with police, the man behind the wheel remains silent and hints at a plastic bag dangling from the vehicle door, which the officer illuminates using a flashlight.

Inside the bag is a copy of the man’s driver’s license, insurance, registration and a slip of paper known as the “fair DUI flier,” which states in bold letters: “I remain silent. No searches. I want my lawyer.”

The officers examine the packet carefully for a few seconds before glaring at the driver and sending the man on his way.

“Have a nice day,” one officer says.[/quote]
[align=right]as reported in [i][url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/02/10/why-florida-drivers-are-making-videos-of-themselves-refusing-to-talk-to-police-at-dui-checkpoints/?tid=pm_pop]The Washington Post[/i][/url][/align]
This is interesting to me. While I have no doubt that DUI checkpoints help remove drunk drivers from the roads, I do question whether they square with the Fourth Amendment. As a person who rarely drinks and then never more than one, I have no reason to fear these checkpoints. In my area, the officers have some kind of alcohol detector on their flashlights. When you speak near it, it has a bar graph. You light up too many little lights, you are getting a breathalyzer.[/quote]

Hello Southern Dad,
In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that, despite their “intrusion on individual liberties,” being stopped in a DUI checkpoint does not violate a person’s Fourth Amendment’s protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.
For more information read full article: http://www.duiarresthelp.com/