Sobriety Checkpoints

Not too long ago it was illegal for the police to stop motorists and check their level of sobriety without some independent probable cause that the driver was intoxicated or otherwise violating the law. All that was done away with when the Supreme Court decided that DUI checkpoints were legal absent independent suspicion of criminal activity and that is the current state of the law today. That being said, there does exist some measure of attack on checkpoints.

The Courts have delineated that there is a presumption of legality for these unique legal creatures called sobriety checkpoints. However, these governmental intrusions are subject to challenge based on whether the roadblocks are set up in accordance with strict legal guidelines and factors. Among the criteria are:

The specific degree of discretion left to the individual police officer in the field
The specific geographical location chosen for the DUI roadblock
The nature of time and temporal duration of the roadblock
The standards implemented by superior officers
Was advance notice given to the general public specifying when and where the checkpoint will take place.
Was advance warning given to approaching motorists
Adherence to recognized safety conditions
The length of time each driver is stopped and detained

When these factors are not deemed to follow specific rules set forth by the criminal courts then the roadblock can successfully be challenged which may lead to the stop, detention and arrest of a particular driver being thrown out in Court.

Some DUI charges can also be attacked on other grounds such as whether the driver was pulled over for avoiding a checkpoint, something that many police agencies do on a regular basis. Also, the breath machines used at some checkpoint locations have not been approved by the standards set forth in the county crime lab general plan and therefore motions seeking to suppress the breath test can be filed.

If you or someone you know has been victimized by an illegal DUI roadblock or checkpoint a lawyer should be contacted immediately.

Our DUI, Criminal and Speeding Ticket Attorneys and Lawyers are are available to defend your case in all local Courts including Shafter, cases in Taft, Delano, Lamont, Bakersfield DUI , representation for a Grover Beach DUI, Pismo Beach, Burbank DUI, ticket in Coalinga and drunk driving violations in Santa Clarita. Our attorneys are licensed only in the state of California and therefore can only provide advice and information that pertains to CA law. If you or a loved one has a criminal matter in Kern County, San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles Counties or need help for a local DUI attorney with high ratings out of the area call us and allow our firm to schedule a consultation where you can give us the facts and circumstances and ask questions about your specific case, we have legal professionals who can help you through this difficult time in your life. The information in this website is intended for general informational purposes, it should not be substituted for specific legal advice given by a lawyer regarding your individual reckless driving, commercial truck ticket, criminal, speeding, driving under the influence, drunk driving or underage 21 DWI case. We also have an intricate understanding of driving on a suspended license and how to deal with the consequences of an out of state DUI arrest in California, Bakersfield DUI and traffic matters and all surrounding jurisdictions.