At some point in your life, you may have driven into a DUI checkpoint. These roadblocks are often set up around holiday weekends or big events – or simply near bars and nightclubs. While DUI checkpoints are legal, they must comply with specific rules.
Unless the police have probable cause or you give them consent, they cannot search your vehicle during a DUI checkpoint. If you are stopped at a DUI checkpoint, you should remain calm and cooperative – and never give law enforcement consent to search your car. If the police do search your vehicle illegally, our Arizona criminal defense attorneys will advocate for your rights.
Matthew Lopez Law represents clients throughout Arizona who have been charged with all types of crimes. We take an aggressive approach to criminal defense, fighting to protect our clients’ rights. Reach out to our law firm today to schedule a free initial consultation with an Arizona DUI defense lawyer.
The Legal Justification of DUI Checkpoints
Under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, Americans are protected from unlawful searches and seizures. When it comes to your car being stopped, this typically means that police are prohibited from stopping your vehicle without evidence of a crime or a traffic violation. Yet DUI checkpoints allow law enforcement to stop vehicles without any evidence of a crime – how is that legal?
In a 1990 case, the United States Supreme Court found that although DUI checkpoints are seizures, they do not necessarily violate a driver’s constitutional rights. The Supreme Court justified this ruling by weighing the government’s legitimate interest in reducing drunk driving against a temporary inconvenience to motorists. The Supreme Court ultimately found that as long as DUI checkpoints are limited, they do not violate the 4th Amendment.
DUI checkpoints are legal in Arizona. However, they must be set up and carried out in a way that ensures that all drivers who pass through are treated equally. In other words, the police can’t decide who to stop based on how they look or the type of car that they are driving.
To be legal, a checkpoint must meet the following criteria:
- It must be established pursuant to a plan that explicitly describes how drivers will be stopped on a random basis (i.e., every 10th driver).
- Checkpoints must be published in advance to notify the public.
- Checkpoints must be clearly marked so that drivers know that they are entering it as they approach.
- Once stopped, a driver cannot be unreasonably detained at a checkpoint. However, police can ask for a driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance and look for indications of intoxication. If the police believe that a driver is under the influence, they may ask that driver to pull over to the side of the road for further investigation.
Notably, DUI checkpoints do not include the authority to search a vehicle. Under the Fourth Amendment, the police can only search your vehicle in limited circumstances. If the police do search your vehicle illegally during a DUI checkpoint, your Arizona DUI defense lawyer may ask the court to throw out any evidence seized – or even dismiss the charges against you.
Two Legal Reasons for a Search
An illegal search could lead to your case being dismissed. But, do you know when it is legal to search your car? If you do not know, do not feel alone. Most of us do not know when a police officer is within their rights to search our car.
Many times, when an officer asks, “You don’t have anything to hide do you? May I search your car?” We almost automatically start shaking our heads in the affirmative because we do not have anything to hide. But, was the answer to the first question really yes?
We have all seen the police shows on television where the guy or gal is pulled out of their car and cuffed for telling a police officer they do not have the right to search their car. In a belligerent voice, they proclaim their knowledge of the Fourth Amendment and that it is a violation of their rights as a citizen of the United States to search their vehicle without consent. It is more likely the belligerence than their knowledge of the Constitution that got them handled a little rougher than necessary.
We support our police and their efforts to curb lawlessness, but there is a right way and a wrong way. There are two “right ways,” two legal reasons they can legally search your car. And, those are probable cause and direct consent. And, no matter what is true, if you act belligerent to some police officers who have been on the job all day, are tired and irritable anyway, one of those two could become the truth. Fair or not, when they are twisting your arms around back to put on the handcuffs, “The truth will not set you free.”
Consent
The first legal justification for a search is consent. If you say, “I have nothing to hide, you may search my car.” You just gave them permission to search and no matter what happens from that point on, you cannot change your mind. The correct thing to do there would have been to politely state, “I have nothing to hide, but I would like to invoke my Fourth Amendment right. No, you may not search my car.”
It is important to comply with the orders of the police officers at the checkpoint but you can respectfully decline their request for search. After you decline their request for a search, if they continue with the search, just let them – they are violating the law and anything they find will not be admissible in court because of the illegal search.
Probable Cause
The second method for a legal search is when the officers have probable cause. Empty beer cans or bottles (either of these are an “open container” a class 2 misdemeanor), drug paraphernalia, the smell of marijuana, or the bark of a drug-sniffing dog is probable cause to search your vehicle. Yes, a DUI checkpoint could have drug-sniffing dogs on the scene or when they believe you have drugs in the vehicle, they could bring a drug dog to the scene.
However, a police officer can only hold you there at the checkpoint for a “reasonable” period, except to get a search warrant. If they tell you to pull over into a parking area, then there is normally a specific reason for it and they should tell you what that is. But, once again if you get belligerent and demand to know why you are being kept waiting, things will probably get worse before they get better. The best approach is to treat the police officer with dignity and respect and they will probably treat you the same way.
What to Do at a DUI Checkpoint
If you are stopped at a DUI checkpoint, you might find yourself feeling a bit scared or unsure of what you can do. There are some steps that you can take to help increase the likelihood of getting through the checkpoint without a problem:
- Do not violate any traffic laws if you want to avoid the checkpoint. While you can turn away from the checkpoint legally, do not make an illegal u-turn or commit another traffic violation that would give the police cause to stop you.
- Stay calm and be respectful. Do not argue with the officers or refuse to hand over your paperwork.
- Say as little as possible. Remember that anything that you say to the police could ultimately be used against you, so it is in your best interests to limit your answers to a yes or no.
- Do not take a field sobriety test. You are not required to take these tests and doing so can only hurt you.
- If you are arrested, exercise your right to remain silent and your right to counsel. Reach out to an Arizona DUI defense attorney as soon as possible.
What to Do if you or a Loved Are Arrested for DUI or Possession
If you or someone you know has been arrested for DUI or possession of a controlled substance, you will need a criminal defense attorney. Do not say anything without first talking to a lawyer. In your Miranda Warning the police officer read to you, he said, “You have a right to remain silent… you have a right to an attorney if you cannot afford one…” Use both of those rights immediately.
The Matthew Lopez Law team is one of the finest in Arizona. Call 602-926-8902.. Either office will be able to put you in contact with an attorney or send an attorney to the police station. Then sit tight and wait, without talking to anyone. That includes the person they put you in a cell with, do not speak to anyone until you speak with an attorney. This may seem a little melodramatic but you really do not know who that person is or why they are there.
If it is one of your friends or family members who was arrested, then you can fill out our convenient online contact form and someone from Matthew Lopez Law will send a reply to you. Then, let your friend know help is on the way and they should sit tight and exercise their “right to remain silent.” It is genuinely the best thing they can do to help their defense attorney.
Call Our Law Firm Today
DUI, drug, and other criminal charges carry steep penalties in the state of Arizona. If you have been charged with a criminal offense, you do have options. Our Arizona criminal defense attorneys will fight to protect your rights.
Matthew Lopez Law advocates for people charged with all types of crimes in Arizona. We offer free initial consultations so that you can better understand your rights. To learn more, call our law offices at 480-608-9998 or fill out our online contact form.