Why Are DUI Sobriety Checkpoints Constitutional?
Have you ever wondered how police can stop you at a DUI roadblock (aka “sobriety checkpoint”)? Doesn’t the Constitution require them to have “probable cause before stopping you”? Yes and no, explains Lawrence Taylor who heads up a team of California DUI attorneys that specialize in DUI defense. The Constitution of the United States clearly says that police cant just stop someone and conduct an investigation unless there are “articulable facts” indicating possible criminal activity. So how can they do exactly that with drunk driving roadblocks? Good question. And it was raised in the case of Michigan v. Sitz, in which the Michigan Supreme Court striking down DUI roadblocks as unconstitutional. In a 6-3 decision, however, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Michigan court, holding that they were constitutionally permissible. Chief Justice Rehnquist began his majority opinion by admitting that DUI sobriety checkpoints do, in fact, constitute a “seizure” within the language of the Fourth A
