DUI CHECKPOINTS (PART I)
A PREFATORY ON DUI SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS AND/OR OTHER ROADBLOCK DETENTIONS IN CALIFORNIA
This is part I of series dealing with DUI Checkpoints in the State of California. Some of the principals are applicable across the country in varying degrees, so if you are or were charged with a DUI stemming from a DUI Checkpoint, you should consult a lawyer in that State to determine the applicability of the information contained here.
In 2001, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (N.H.T.S.A.) published a book on sobriety or DUI checkpoint and/or roadblocks and DUI Saturation Patrols. [U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Saturation Patrols And Sobriety Checkpoints, DOT HS 809 063 (Springfield, VA: National Technical Information Service (NTIS), revised 2002). June 2001).
Among other things, the publication encourages law enforcement agencies to invite prosecutors and judges to help plan sobriety checkpoint or roadblocks. Some times the jurisdiction's crime laboratory also participates in the checkpoint or roadblocks. Basically, everyone involved in prosecuting you or judging whether the checkpoint or roadblock was constitutionally permissible.