If you’ve ever gone through a sobriety checkpoint, you may have been confused about your rights. Do you have to answer the officer’s questions? Can you refuse a breathalyzer test? What happens if you face arrest?
In this blog post, we will answer all of your questions and discuss your rights at a sobriety checkpoint. We’ll also look at what to do if you face arrest! Knowing your rights can help prevent the severe consequences of a DWI conviction!
Drunk Driving Statistics and You
DWI is the North Carolina charge for “Driving While Impaired” with any substance, whether prescription meds, alcohol, or street drugs. If an officer believes you took an impairing substance, they can arrest and test you!
Many motorists feel that state law guidelines for checkpoints should be permitted to improve the safety of motorists. Sobriety checkpoints can catch impaired drivers and can help prevent fatal crashes. A checkpoint can deter impaired driving and alcohol-related crashes.
However, others believe that monitoring public driving in this way violates their fourth amendment rights.
First, let’s look at how to handle a sobriety checkpoint, and then we will look at the legal aspects of checkpoints.
FAQ: How to Handle Sobriety Checkpoints
Do you have to answer the officer’s questions?
If you’re facing arrest, the most important thing to know is that you have a right to remain silent and speak to a lawyer. You do not need to answer questions.
Exercising your rights protects you as a citizen. You may stay silent until you have spoken with and found representation by an attorney. Do this by letting the officer know that you are remaining respectfully quiet until your attorney arrives.
Can I Refuse a Breathalyzer or Other Drug Testing?
If you refuse a breathalyzer, you face having your license suspended for one year.
However, it is your right to have a witness present at your breathalyzer testing or any other chemical testing they may do at the station.
By law, your witness has 30 minutes to arrive before you need to take any testing. You should use these 30 minutes to try to contact an attorney, friend, or family member to come to witness the test.
When Am I “Under Arrest?”
You are under arrest when a police officer places you in custody or you are not free to leave. In a sobriety checkpoint situation, the officer must have probable cause that you’ve committed a crime.
Should I Resist Arrest?
Do not use force to resist arrest, even if you believe the arrest is unlawful or illegal. Using any force can cause you to face additional charges such as resisting arrest, assault, or battery. If officers arrest you without probable cause, your best course of action is to fight in court, not with the officer.
What Happens If I’m Arrested?
If arrested, try to remain calm and cooperate, but do not talk to law enforcement until you speak with an attorney. Invoke your right to remain silent. If you talk, you could get yourself in deeper trouble.
Just tell the police that you wish to remain silent and want to speak with a lawyer. After arrest, do not talk to the police, family, friends, or other inmates about your case. You could incriminate yourself and turn those people into witnesses against you.
If officers arrest you, several things will happen, including:
- If officers want to continue questioning you, then Officers will read your Miranda rights to you, letting you know that the courts may use anything you say against you at trial. If a police department asks you to sign a written Miranda waiver before you talk, don’t do it – it’s never a good idea to waive your Miranda rights!
- Officers may search you on the scene, at the jail, or both
- Officers may seize evidence relating to the investigation
- Officers may confiscate your personal belongings
The police train to learn how to elicit incriminating information from people.
Assume that officers record all conversations, including talking with visitors in jail or over the telephone. However, your discussions with your attorney are confidential.
What About My Phone Call?
Police typically do not allow suspects to use their cell phones to make calls. However, if they let you use a phone, assume that officers are recording all conversations, including talking with visitors in jail or over the telephone. Only discussions with your attorney are private.
Read on to learn about the legality of roadblocks stopping vehicles on a public road.
Alcohol-Impaired Driving and Sobriety Checkpoint Legalities
Sobriety checkpoints are legal in North Carolina. Law enforcement officers may briefly detain and question drivers at a checkpoint site.
However, the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that law enforcement must establish probable cause before detaining or questioning an individual.
So how are sobriety checkpoints legal?
In 1990, The United States Supreme Court upheld sobriety checkpoints against a fourth amendment challenge in Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz.
North Carolina specifically authorized sobriety checkpoints in North Carolina General Statutes under section 20-16.3A, affirming that the ‘enforcement of the State’s Motor Vehicle Laws’ is a valid purpose for a checkpoint.
Sobriety checkpoints are legal because constitutional challenges to DUI checkpoints resulted in a ruling by the Supreme Court. The ruling allows for checkpoints with implemented provisions protecting innocent drivers from facing wrongful arrest and detention.
Law enforcement in North Carolina must follow the following national guidelines for responsible checkpoints:
Advance Notice
The most critical protocol requires law enforcement to publicize where and when checkpoints will take place ahead of time in writing. The motoring public, by law, must also receive advance notice of these fixed location checkpoints.
Whether they occur on a weekly basis or have varied hours, officers must post these enforced checkpoints for the public’s awareness. You can do searches online to find sites that specialize in providing this information.
Participation
Another provision states that any law enforcement officer within the jurisdiction of the checkpoint can participate in the sobriety checkpoint process.
Established Rules Beforehand
Law enforcement officers must establish a detailed set of rules and guidelines, though they need not submit or record the procedures in writing.
Number Of Vehicles Stopped
The law also stipulates that jurisdictions must state beforehand how many cars they plan to stop at each checkpoint.
If You’re Facing Rights Violations
Even with these checkpoint guidelines in place in North Carolina, sometimes officers may violate your rights.
If you believe you were mistreated or racially or otherwise profiled, a DWI defense attorney can help you fight your charges!
Law Enforcement Agencies vs. Your Defense Attorney
Defense attorneys can win a DWI case when an agency establishes a checkpoint without clearly defining its purpose.
A checkpoint’s purpose may be to:
- Ensure compliance with traffic laws
OR
- Specifically to enforce DWI laws
A checkpoint’s purpose may NOT be for general crime control.
According to the U.S. Courts, checkpoints established to enforce general crime control are not legal. (City of Indianapolis v. Edmund, 531 U.S. 32 (2000)
The checkpoint must be reasonable, and the purpose of the checkpoint must be clear. (State v. Rose)
For example, a one-page plan for a ‘license and registration checkpoint’ set up at midnight down the street from the local bar is not reasonable or clear. This is a case that an excellent defense attorney can easily challenge!
We Can Help
At the Scharff Law Firm in Raleigh, NC, we have the experience in the criminal justice system to understand how to defend your rights against checkpoints and DWI charges in general! We vigorously investigate your charges for rights violations!
If you are facing criminal charges after a sobriety checkpoint or an illegal traffic stop or search, please get in touch with us today for a free case evaluation with our experienced DWI legal team.
