Fighting the DUI Checkpoint or Roadblock Case
Tampa DUI Roadblock or Checkpoint Attorney
Want to know the good news about being arrested in a DUI roadblock or checkpoint? Sobriety and driver's license checkpoints are the most heavy scrutinized types of stops under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. If your arrest occurred after a stop in a roadblock, never enter a plea to DUI until after you have spoken with an experienced drunk driving defense attorney.
Local law enforcement officer are using checkpoints and roadblocks more often. As a result, individuals who committed no traffic infraction are being detained. More and more individuals are blowing below the legal limit of 0.08 which indicates that these checkpoints are not working as intended and increase the likelihood that an innocent person might be arrested. Aggressively fighting the charges is your best defense against an unreasonable arrest and prosecution.
Your DUI Attorney in Tampa can require the prosecutor to provide information not just about whether the stop of your vehicle was reasonable, but about whether the stop of every vehicle in the roadblock was reasonable. Your attorney can file a motion to suppress all evidence in your case because of any illegality during the road block operation. If successful, your criminal charges could be dismissed. Even if an outright dismissal does not occur, the prosecutor with the State Attorney's Office may be more willing to negotiate the case for greatly reduced charges.
The Ultimate Sin - No DUI "Refusal" Checkpoints
As if stopping vehicles without any probably cause were not enough, law enforcement officers throughout Florida are now advocating for the right to use force to draw blood from citizens suspected of DUI after being stopped in a roadblock.
How does the no DUI refusal checkpoint work? Law enforcement sets up a roadblock on a particular road for a particular period of time. As vehicles enter the roadblock, law enforcement directs every third car to pull over for further investigation. For those individuals that admit to drinking alcohol or taking any prescription medication, smell of alcohol, or otherwise appear to be intoxication or impaired the officer may order the individual to exit the vehicle and perform field sobriety exercises.
If the individual is arrested for DUI then the officer will order the individual to submit to a breath test on the Intoxilyzer 8000. If they refuses (or have questions about whether to submit) the officer will tell them about the new "No DUI Refusal" policy. Anyone who refuses to take the breath test will be subjected to a needle being put into their arm for the purpose of drawing their blood either with or without their consent. In fact, the officers can use reasonable force to extract the blood if the individual offers any resistance. A judge will be on site for the purpose of issuing a warrant to authorize the blood draw.
Real Purpose Behind "No DUI Refusal" Checkpoints
The real purpose behind the "No DUI Refusal" Checkpoints is to discourage individual from refusing the breath test. The breath test costs the law enforcement agency only a few dollars for the cost of the equipment spread over the number of times it is used. On the other hand, blood tests are much more expensive. Additionally, at a trial in a DUI blood test case the prosecution must call expert witnesses to confirm the conclusion of the lab work.
For cost reasons alone, DUI enforcement officers do not want the suspect to refuse the breath test. Threatening to hold them down and take their blood is a great way to make sure no one exercises the option to refuse the testing. Read more about "No refusal" DUI checkpoints could be coming to Tampa.
Florida DUI Checkpoint or Roadblock Cases in Hillsborough County - Operation 3D
In Hillsborough County, Florida, a DUI Task Force has been created called "Operation 3D." This DUI task force is made up of law enforcement officers throughout the Hillsborough County including the Tampa Police Department, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Plant City Police Department, and the University of South Florida (USF) Police Department.
The Hillsborough County DUI Task Force publishes in advance information on the dates and locations of predetermined checkpoint operations. Clink here to find out more about the DUI Task Force for Hillsborough County. For instance, the DUI Task Force, Operation 3D, plans to increase roadblocks through December 31, 2010, to discourage driving under the influence during the Christmas season. Click here to see a list of DUI checkpoints locations in Hillsborough County , including Tampa, Ybor City, Plant City, and Brandon, Florida.
More roadblocks and checkpoints are planned for the New Year. Over the New Years weekend, Hillsborough deputies made 56 DUI arrests, and 38 of those arrests occurred on New Years Eve and during the early morning hours of New Years Day.
Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office have scheduled at least 20 more "saturation" patrols during the month of January 2011 looking for individuals who might be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This show of force is specifically targeted at discouraging individuals from driving after having anything to drink. Read more - Tampa's DUI Enforcement Doesn't Stop After New Year's.
Roadblock Information the Prosecutor Must Disclose
Your attorney can force the prosecutor to turn over information about every officer that participated in the roadblock, the checkpoint guidelines that must be established before the stop, and the supervisor that set up all of the predetermined procedures to be used in that particular Hillsborough County roadblock.
Reading the checkpoint guidelines used in the particular roadblock that was used to stop your vehicle prior to the DUI arrest is just the first step. Other information can be used to determine how many individuals were actually stopped, what delay was caused to vehicles that were not subjected to further investigation, and how many total arrests occurred.
Specific Written Guidelines for the DUI Roadblock Must be Developed to Limit Police Discretion
The roadblock must be developed and operated in accordance with specific written guidelines which spell out the manner in which vehicles will be selected, the procedures to be used for any additional detention of the vehicle, and the manner in which vehicles will be disposed so that the officers in the field have little discretion in "making up the rules" as they go along.
The Procedures Used During the Roadblock Must Protect the Driver's Safety
The roadblock or checkpoint must protect the safety of the drivers through adequate lighting, warning signals, and officers that can easily be identified as law enforcement officers. The DUI roadblock must be utilized in a way that minimizes intrusion and the length of the detention. Finally, the roadblock must be "significantly more effective" in fighting crime than less intrusive more traditional law enforcement methods.
Filing the Motion to Suppress the Hillsborough County Checkpoint Evidence
At a motion to suppress hearing to contest the constitutionality of the roadblock, your Tampa DUI Attorney can call all of the witnesses to testify, including the officer that performed the stop, the officer that made the arrest, the law enforcement supervisor that drafted the "Checkpoint Plan" and any other officers involved in the stop. Any deviation from the written guidelines or procedures may be grounds to show the DUI roadblock was unconstitutional.
If the roadblock in Hillsborough County is deemed to be unconstitutional, then your attorney demand that the judge suppress all evidence against you including your identity, observations that you were driving, the results of any field sobriety exercises, any alleged refusal to submit to chemical testing, or the breath test results. Contact a Tampa DUI Attorney at the Sammis Law Firm to discuss the facts of your case involving a DUI checkpoint or roadblock stop.
Charges that Can Be Dismissed in a Florida DUI Checkpoint Case
In the typical DUI checkpoint case the officer may undercover evidence of any of the following traffic infractions or criminal charges:
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
- Possession of marijuana or another controlled substance or drug;
- Driving while license suspended;
- Civil infractions such as a seat belt violations; or
- Possession of a firearm or weapon.
If the motion challenging the constitutionality of the DUI checkpoint or roadblock is successful, then all evidence in the case is usually suppressed or thrown out by the Court resulting in the charges against you being dismissed.
Florida Decisions on Motions to Suppress Evidence from a DUI Checkpoint
In Guy v. State, 993 So.2d 77 (Florida 2d DCA 2008), the Florida appellate courts ordered the trial judge to suppress such evidence. In that case the driving was stopped during a DUI roadblock. The defendant in that case was arrested for the felony offense of driving while license suspended as a habitual traffic offender.
In that case, the defendant was also on probation for Felony DUI, so the charges against him were quite serious. The Second District Court of Appeals reversed the defendant's convictions finding that the written "DUI Checkpoint Plan" was inadequate because it gave too much leeway to the officers in the field to make decisions about which vehicles to stop. The Florida Appellate Court also found that the officers involved in the checkpoint did not properly follow even those inadequate guidelines.
Tampa DUI Attorneys for Checkpoint Cases - Fighting for the Best Result
If you were arrested for DUI after being stopped in a checkpoint or roadblock anywhere in Hillsborough County, Florida, then contact an attorney at the Sammis Law Firm to discuss your case. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the Tampa Police Department, and the prosecutors with the State Attorney's Office aggressively pursue DUI prosecutions. You also need an experienced attorney to help you obtain the best results possible for your particular case.
Florida DUI Checkpoint and Roadblock Links
Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID) - Oldest Anti-DWI national organization in the United States with chapters or coordinators in 41 states, including Florida. RID is a grass roots organization formed by Doris Aiken in 1978 in Schenectady, NY, after the deaths of Timothy and Karen Morris, 19 and 17 years old, the only Morris children, caused by an intoxicated 22 year old driver on Dec. 4, 1977.
Tampa DUI Violation of Probation - Read more about the conditions of probation that the court can imposes and the consequences of a violation of probation in Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL.
Recent news videos on cell phone applications (apps) that might be banned by Congress. Blackberry has already agreed to discontinue use of the mobile device applications that track DUI roadblocks and speed traps.