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Home  >  Law Library  >  Sobriety Checkpoint Restrictions

Sobriety Checkpoint Restrictions

Police checkpoints are particularly controversial tools used by many police departments to check for intoxicated drivers on the road. While the police claim that these sobriety checkpoints improve public safety, many critics have argued that these checkpoints violate the Constitutional rights of Americans.

For more information regarding your legal rights and options as a defendant facing DUI charges, contact the Arizona DUI checkpoint lawyers of Thompson & Volquardsen, P.C., at 602-510-9999 today.

As a result of these checkpoints’ questionable nature, the law clearly limits sobriety checkpoints with certain restrictions:

#1: Police Must Have a Plan for Checking Vehicles

Through a sobriety checkpoint, police can’t start checking cars according to a hunch or a system that they decide is relatively random. A checkpoint needs to follow a clear system of checking vehicles that ensures that drivers have equal odds of being checked. Officers need to either check every certain number of vehicles or check all vehicles going through.

#2: Checkpoints Cannot Overburden Traffic

One reason police do not check all vehicles at a checkpoint is because these operations are not allowed to create a major traffic problem. While checkpoints will naturally make traffic worse, they are not allowed to effectively shut down traffic on a busy highway.

#3: Checkpoints Have to Be Announced

Police cannot spontaneously decide to begin checking vehicles at a checkpoint. The law requires forewarning for any checkpoint the police want to carry out. This means that the checkpoint needs to be clearly marked on the road. Also, police need to announce to the public about the checkpoint before it happens. These warnings are considered legally sufficient to go ahead with a checkpoint operation.

Contact Us

If you’ve been arrested on DUI charges at a police checkpoint, your Constitutional rights may have been violated in the process. Violations can make certain pieces of evidence inadmissible or result in the dismissal of your case. To learn more about your options in court, contact an Arizona DUI attorney at Thompson & Volquardsen, P.C., by calling 602-510-9999.