UHP Assists in Multiple Checkpoints
Holiday weekends usually result in a lot of partying and a lot of partying usually results in a lot of DUI citation. In an effort to keep impaired drivers off the roadways a number of city police departments set up checkpoint locations, and the Utah High Patrol troopers assisted in that effort. Some of the checkpoint locations included Lehi, Pleasant Grove and North Salt Lake. A couple of the stops however found no drunk drivers even though they stopped approximately 1,000 vehicles. UHP is claiming that the low number of citations is a result of people making better decision about not driving drunk, and while we’d all like to believe this to be the case, this explanation ignores the multitude of other possibilities for why DUI numbers were down this labor day weekend.
Legality of DUI Checkpoints
Although a lot of people consider everything a police officer does legal, others out there may be wondering how it’s legal for the police to set up checkpoint like the ones used this weekend in Utah. Although the constitution provides citizens the right to be free from unlawful search and seizure, these checkpoints fly in the face of reason and subject everyone in their path to police force regardless of reasonable suspicion. The constitutionality of said checkpoints were challenged in Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz (1990), a case before the United States Supreme Court in which the court decided by a 6-3 decision that properly conducted sobriety checkpoints were constitutional. Chief Justice Rehnquist argued that the state interest in reducing drunk driving outweighed the minor constitutional rights infringement. Thus based on the Supreme Court DUI arrests that come from police checkpoints are legal.
DUI Defense Attorney
DUI charges carry serious penalties and are often hard to defend. With an experienced attorney however you can be sure that you obtain the best outcome available to you. Arguments questioning the constitutionality of certain police actions can often be successfully used in DUI cases and because of that you need an attorney to help you. Call us today to set up a free consultation to see how we can help you in your case.
