Author Login | Popular Articles | RSS Feeds | Sitemap

Home | Legal


Are Sobriety Checkpoints Legal?

By: Lance Knowlton

Copyright 2006 Lance Knowlton

As many people know, the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States forbids the unreasonable search or seizure of U.S. citizens. Generally, there must be probable cause to arrest or search persons or their private property, which means that the officer must have a reasonable suspicion based on articulable facts that some wrongdoing has occurred. How, then, are law enforcement agents able, constitutionally, to stop motorists at sobriety checkpoints?

According to constitutional law, some stops are not considered seizures of a person. This is the case with a so called "stop and frisk" in which an officer detains a person for a very brief period of time and quickly checks their outer clothing for contraband. Sometimes, if a person is detained for less than 48 hours, it is not considered a seizure. However, this is not true for DUI roadblocks. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that stopping someone at such a roadblock does constitute a seizure of that person under the Fourth Amendment.

One "however" further and the language of the Constitution gets tangled up in the thicket of constitutional interpretation and case law. The Supreme Court could have claimed that these stops without probable cause are constitutional under the doctrine of exigent circumstances. The Court has repeatedly held that when an officer believes evidence is about to be destroyed, he can perform a search without a warrant. However, this doctrine seems only to apply to searches. Instead, it appears as though the Court used a balancing test, common in other areas of constitutional law, whereby the "minimal intrusion on individual liberties" was weighed against the need for and efficacy of roadblocks and found to be less important.

To some, it seems that the Court has simply carved out of the Constitution another exception, similar to the one for exigent circumstances, for sobriety checkpoints. DUI defense attorneys often refer to this as "the DUI exception to the Constitution." Critics and dissenting justices have pointed out that the Fourth Amendment does not make exceptions. The only question is whether the officer has probable cause to stop the individual driver. Justice Brennan wrote, "That stopping every car might make it easier to prevent drunken driving...is an insufficient justification for abandoning the requirement of individualized suspicion."

The Court's justification for the exception rested on the assumption that DUI roadblocks are necessary and effective. However, there is some controversy as to whether this is true. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released data on alcohol-related deaths in 2003 and 2004. There was a decline in such fatalities in 2004, and most of the drop occurred in states that don't use sobriety checkpoints. Critics already concerned about the large outlay of resources required to operate checkpoints are doubly concerned if spending the resources does not even necessarily prevent DUI offenses.

On the other hand, law enforcement agents believe that checkpoints are effective even if intoxicated drivers get around them because they spread the message that driving under the influence is not tolerated. Officers often provide informational pamphlets to motorists stopped at checkpoints, explaining the consequences of drunk driving, which may have a deterrent effect.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Having been struck by drunk drivers twice, Lance Knowlton has a deep appreciation for this serious problem. To learn how you can help prevent drunk driving in your community and earn money at the same time, visit: http://www.alcoholalert.com .

Tags: , , , , , ,
| Print | Ezine Ready | |

Recent Legal Articles

  • Birth Injury Lawyers to Bring Suit Against GlaxoSmithKline By: Paul Justice - The most devastating instances occur when a birth injury occurs ending in a fatal state for the newborn baby. Events such as these have the ability to rip your heart out leaving you with nothing inside but questions and doubts. If this heart-wrenching event has occurred to you or a loved one you are probably wondering if you did anything wrong to cause this type of event to happen.
  • New York Construction Accident Lawyers Say Building Tunnels Is Dangerous Work By: Paul Justice - Building tunnels can be a very dangerous job with all of the work, time, and effort that goes into it, not even to mention that building a tunnel requires a level of construction expertise that many construction workers have to work their entire life to find. Normally a tunnel takes 3 months or more to build, and uses a lot of intricate steps in order to complete.
  • Trasylol Lawyers Take a Stance on Pharmaceutical Drug Companies By: Paul Justice - For as long as large pharmaceutical drug companies have been around illegal kickbacks have been awarded to serve as an incentive for doctors to use specific drugs. These kickbacks have attributed to numerous cases where a patient has suffered due to their doctor recommending a drug that they received a kickback for. Now more than ever doctors are accepting many different kinds of kickbacks because the price of medical malpractice insurance is so high.
  • Know Your Rights And Stop Collection Agency Harassment By: MIKE SELVON - It can be frustrating when you fall behind on your payments and can't seem to get anywhere, especially if you try to deal with your lender in order to make payment arrangements. Then you start to get continuous calls from a debt collection services company, demanding payments and threatening outlandish consequences. Now, collection agency harassment is handled differently.
  • Complications of Chain Accidents By: Kamille Pagibigan - Chain Accidents A chain accident occurs when two or more vehicles collide, usually affecting other vehicles traveling in the same road. It is sometimes called as multiple vehicle pile-ups. Usually, chain accidents or multiple vehicle pile-ups result in turmoil and have horrifying outcomes. Serious damages arise and virtually all the people involved sustain injuries ranging from mild to severe. Some may even lose their lives.
  • Uninsured Motorist Insurance: Protecting People from Uninsured Motorist Accidents By: Kamille Pagibigan - Uninsured Motorist Insurance Uninsured motorist (UM) insurance is a kind of car accident insurance policy, which provides protection to people who are injured in accidents due to uninsured motorists. Majority of states have laws, which oblige car owners to have this type of insurance policy. In a UM insurance, victims of accidents would get an amount that is equal to the amount they would have received if the motorist had been insured.
  • Slip and Fall Accidents: Who is at Fault? By: Kamille Pagibigan - Every year, thousands of people are injured due to slip and fall accidents. Sometimes, property owners may be held responsible for such an accident, and other times, they are not. If you have been injured because of such an accident, you should first consider that it is natural for things falling on or dripping onto the ground or floor and for even surfaces to become rough.
  • Vehicle Accidents: Dangers of Renting a Car By: Kamille Pagibigan - Renting a vehicle is not something that many people do regularly unless you travel often. When renting a car, it is possible that there might be a higher risk for accidents to happen because you are not that familiar with the vehicle. Another problem in renting cars in Los Angeles is that accidents involving rented vehicles are harder to process as there are more people involved.
  • Airplane Accidents Facts By: Kamille Pagibigan - Airplane Accidents The risk of an airplane accident increases as air traffic is expected to double over the next 20 years, according to the Federal Aviation Administration or FAA. Air traffic is generally regarded as a safe means of transportation. However, when airplane accidents occur, it usually results in horrifying fatalities. Less serious accidents that usually involve private aircrafts occur more frequently than many people realize as most of these accidents are unreported.
  • Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys By: Joaquin Costa - A criminal defense lawyer association is always present in every state. The association is founded to ensure that everyone faced with a crime allegation is given a counsel to help them. The association is also tasked to uphold people's constitutional rights, promote justice for all, and educate the public about their rights and obligations under the rule of law.

Comments

Search Ebay

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!


Add to Google
ArticleSnatch Authors:
Member Login Sign Up Submit Articles FAQ Submission Guidelines Top Authors
For Publishers:
Most Popular Articles Ezine Notifications Article RSS Feeds Terms of Service
For Everyone:
Blog About Us Link to Us Contact Us New Stuff Link Directory Privacy Policy Sitemap Resources
Our Sites:
Free Magazines Book Your Hotel Stay Free MySpace Tools Massive Video Collection Broadband Speed Test
Click here to submit your free, permanent ads to TheFreeAdForum.com!

Submit Your link to the Open Link Directory Project

Copyright 2005-2008 MJE Sales, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Proud member of the ArticleCkr Search Network Search Network!
ArticleSnatch.com is free for both publishers and authors to use and is supported entirely from advertising revenue.
Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.