Sobriety checkpoints
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Sobriety checkpoints or roadblocks involve law enforcement officials stopping every vehicle (or more typically, every nth vehicle), but often in a far less random way based on the perceptions of the officer, on a public roadway and investigating the possibility that the driver might be impaired to drive. They are often set up late at night or in the very early morning hours and on weekends, at which time the proportion of impaired drivers tends to be the highest.
Upon suspicion, the stopped driver is required to exit the vehicle and take a roadside sobriety test that requires the demonstration of both mental and balance skills. If the officer determines that the test has not been passed, the driver is then required to take an alcohol breath test (often called a Breathalyzer test).
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[edit] Legality in the United States
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Thus the Constitution would appear to prohibit people from being stopped without a search warrant or at least without probable cause that they have committed a crime.
However, the United States Supreme Court, in Michigan Department of State Police vs. Sitz (1990), found properly conducted sobriety checkpoints to be constitutional. The Michigan Supreme Court had found sobriety roadblocks to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment. In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed. Although acknowledging that such checkpoints violate a fundamental constitutional right, Chief Justice Rehnquist argued that they are necessary in order to reduce drunk driving.
Dissenting justices argued that the Constitution doesn’t provide exceptions. "That stopping every car might make it easier to prevent drunken driving ... is an insufficient justification for abandoning the requirement of individualized suspicion", dissenting Justice Brennan insisted.
Chief Justice Rehnquist argued that an exception was justified because sobriety roadblocks were effective and necessary. On the other hand, dissenting Justice Stevens countered that "the findings of the trial court, based on an extensive record and affirmed by the Michigan Court of Appeals, indicate that the net effect of sobriety checkpoints on traffic safety is infinitesimal and possibly negative." And even if roadblocks were effective, the fact that they work wouldn’t justify violating individuals’ constitutional rights, some justices argued.
Although the U.S. Supreme Court has found sobriety checkpoints to be constitutionally permissible, eleven states have found that sobriety roadblocks violate their own state constitutions or have outlawed them.[1]
The matter is often hotly argued, with some reporting that roving patrols are the more effective way to identify impaired drivers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, after extensive field studies, concluded that "the number of DWI arrests made by the roving patrol program was nearly three times the average number of DWI arrests made by the checkpoint programs". [2] Others insist that “opponents of sobriety checkpoints tend to be those who drink and drive frequently and are concerned about being caught” (Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), 2005).
There is evidence that opposition to sobriety roadblocks is generally stronger among civil libertarians, conservatives and libertarians. It should be noted that, in recent years, MADD has been characterized as a neo-prohibitionist movement by some, including the original founder, Candy Lightner. This could call their objectivity on the topic into question.
[edit] Legal guidelines for checkpoint procedures
In approving "properly conducted" checkpoints, Chief Justice Rehnquist implicitly acknowledged that there must be guidelines in order to avoid becoming overly intrusive. In other words, checkpoints cannot simply be set up when, where and how police officers choose. As often happens in Supreme Court decisions, however, the Chief Justice left it to the states to determine what those minimal safeguards must be, presumably to be reviewed by the courts on a case-by-case basis.
In an effort to provide standards for use by the states, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration subsequently issued a report that reviewed recommended checkpoint procedures in keeping with federal and state legal decisions. ("The Use of Sobriety Checkpoints for Impaired Driving Enforcement", DOT HS-807-656, Nov. 1990) An additional source of guidelines can be found in an earlier decision by the California Supreme Court (Ingersoll v. Palmer (43 Cal.3d 1321 (1987)) wherein the Court set forth what it felt to be necessary standards in planning and administering a sobriety checkpoint:
- Decision making must be at a supervisory level, rather than by officers in the field.
- A neutral formula must be used to select vehicles to be stopped, such as every vehicle or every third vehicle, rather than leaving it up the officer in the field.
- Primary consideration must be given to public and officer safety.
- The site should be selected by policy-making officials, based upon areas having a high incidence of drunk driving.
- Limitations on when the checkpoint is to be conducted and for how long, bearing in mind both effectiveness and intrusiveness.
- Warning lights and signs should be clearly visible.
- Length of detention of motorists should be minimized.
- Advance publicity is necessary to reduce the intrusiveness of the checkpoint and increase its deterrent effect.
[edit] References
Foss, R.D., et al. Roadside Surveys in Conjunction with Sobriety Checkpoints. North Carolina State Highway Safety Research Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. Shaffer Library of Drug Policy.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Sobriety Checkpoints: Facts and Myths. Mothers Against Drunk Driving website, September 11, 2005..
Ross, H. L. Confronting Drunk Driving. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992. . Simpson, H. M., and Mayhew, D. R. The Hard Core Drinking Driver. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Traffic Safety Research Foundation, 1991.
Taylor, L. Drunk Driving Defense. New York: Aspen Law and Business, 6th edition, 2006.
[edit] Sources
Based on materials in Alcohol: Problems and Solutions, which contains additional information on sobriety checkpoints.
Based also on materials on DUIblog and Drunk Driving Law Center.
