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re: Can someone explain to be how sobriety check points are legal?

Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:44 pm to
Posted by wadewilson
Member since Sep 2009
40083 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:44 pm to
quote:

Go cry a river or grab your balls and argue with a cop at a checkpoint, but if they get drunks off the road and save a family going home to celebrate Christmas after visiting the grandparents, I am all for them.


Then you would agree that we shouldn't have any private guns and free speech needs to be ended.
Posted by lsufan1971
Zachary
Member since Nov 2003
23639 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:46 pm to
quote:

I'm always amazed at the brain dead "Muh, If you ain't doin nuttin wrong den why does youz care?"


If you had a loved one killed by drunk driver with no insurance you might change your opinion or not. Imagine getting a call on Christmas Eve that 3 of your loved ones was involved in a head on collision and 2 of them are dead.
Posted by All Hat
Member since Nov 2025
110 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:47 pm to
quote:

If a cop wants to pull a vehicle over, they can easy find an articulable reason by following for a few minutes. That isn’t a barrier.


And he would have to go on record with a sworn statement regarding his claim of reasonable suspicion, which could be challenged in court if the cop is full of shite.
Quite different from cops having the right to just pull you over without cause or suspicion.

Amazed at the stupidity of people that want to live in a world where cops are granted the legal right to stop you any time they want without cause or reasonable suspicion.
Just stopping you to make sure you aren't doing anything wrong.
Our forefathers must be rolling in their graves at the stupidity of the general public.
They crafted a brilliant Constitution & Bill of Rights to protect us from tyranny, and 250 years later we have a general public that is too stupid to understand it, let alone appreciate it.

This post was edited on 11/28/25 at 6:51 pm
Posted by wadewilson
Member since Sep 2009
40083 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:51 pm to
quote:

Drivers do have the right to refuse a field sobriety test or to answer incriminating questions beyond providing identification, but under Louisiana's implied consent law, refusal to submit to a chemical test (like a breath or blood test) after an arrest can result in automatic driver's license suspension.

If these established procedures are not followed correctly by law enforcement, any resulting DUI/DWI charges can be challenged and potentially dismissed in court.


How else is that supposed to read other than the moment that a cop stops you at a checkpoint that you are determined guilty?

Because that's what it is. If you go through a checkpoint, you are guilty of driving under the influence. They can search your vehicle with no warrant, sieze your assets, jail you, forcibly remove your blood, and send you before a judge even if you have committed no crime.

If you go through a DUI checkpoint and the police decide that they are going to test you, you are automatically guilty. That is a fact.
Posted by forkedintheroad
Member since Feb 2025
1449 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:51 pm to
They've been challenged. The courts have said deal with it.
Posted by Rabby
Member since Mar 2021
1467 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:52 pm to
Driving has been determined to be a privilege which court have ruled can be regulated. They have also ruled that stops can be used to check for compliance.
I disagree with each of these points, but they are the law.
Posted by wadewilson
Member since Sep 2009
40083 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:53 pm to
quote:

If you had a loved one killed by drunk driver with no insurance you might change your opinion or not. Imagine getting a call on Christmas Eve that 3 of your loved ones was involved in a head on collision and 2 of them are dead.


And if you had a loved one killed in a mass shooting you might change your opinion on the 2nd amendment.

It still doesn't make you right. It just makes you emotional.

Posted by KosmoCramer
Member since Dec 2007
79900 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:53 pm to
quote:

Implied consent. If you drive on a public highway there are rules.


Then why can't police pull you over whenever they want without reasonable suspicion?
Posted by BabyTac
Austin, TX
Member since Jun 2008
15700 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:55 pm to
quote:

suppose you would have no problem in being confronted in a shopping mall and ask for your driver's license or birth certificate? How about for your children? Could you provide your social security number please?


Wouldnt have one issue with it. I don’t break the law.
Posted by kywildcatfanone
Wildcat Country!
Member since Oct 2012
135588 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:55 pm to
quote:

know a lot of people won't agree but personally I think it's a good deterrent and public safety measure.


It is, and easy to pass. Don't drink and drive. At all. Ever.
Posted by LCA131
Home of the Fake Sig lines
Member since Feb 2008
76235 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:56 pm to
quote:

Then why can't police pull you over whenever they want without reasonable suspicion?


Because the penalty for bald tires doesn't develop the income for the state that a dwi does.
Posted by wadewilson
Member since Sep 2009
40083 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 6:56 pm to
quote:

Then why can't police pull you over whenever they want without reasonable suspicion?


I think they'll be able to eventually.

Courts can use some kind of reasoning like "unreasonable stops are unconstitutional, but as long as the police announce publicly that they'll be doing them on a certain date, deal with it".

Everybody that defends DUI checkpoints deserves to live in a totalitarian country.
Posted by Boston911
Lafayette
Member since Dec 2013
2339 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 7:00 pm to
Here’s what Grok
Had to say about this subject;
Sobriety checkpoints (also called DUI or roadblock checkpoints) do not fully bypass the Fourth Amendment, but the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld them as constitutional under a carefully limited set of conditions. The key case is Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz (1990).
How the Court Justified It
The Fourth Amendment prohibits “unreasonable” searches and seizures. Normally, police need individualized reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop a vehicle. Checkpoints involve stopping cars with no individualized suspicion, which would ordinarily violate the Fourth Amendment.
The Supreme Court used a three-part balancing test from earlier cases (especially Brown v. Texas, 1979) and ruled that checkpoints can be reasonable—and thus constitutional—if they meet these criteria:
1. The government interest is substantial?Drunk driving kills thousands of people annually and imposes massive societal costs. The Court found this interest “grave and legitimate.”
2. The checkpoint must effectively advance that interest?In Sitz, the checkpoint caught about 1.5% of drivers drunk—modest, but the Court said it was enough to contribute meaningfully to deterrence and apprehension.
3. The intrusion on individuals must be slight?This is the big limiting factor. The Court said the stop must be:
• Brief (in Sitz, average delay was 25 seconds)
• Conducted under pre-set, neutral guidelines (not left to officers’ unfettered discretion
• Clearly marked with lights, signs, and uniformed officers (so it doesn’t feel like a random police shakedown)
• Limited in scope (officers can only look for signs of intoxication; they can’t search trunks or ask unrelated questions without new cause)
Because the checkpoint in Sitz met these requirements, the Court ruled 6–3 that the minimal intrusion was outweighed by the public interest.
Important Limits and Variations by State
• About 38 states currently allow sobriety checkpoints, but 12 states ban them because their own state constitutions or courts interpret privacy rights more strictly than the U.S. Constitution requires (e.g., Michigan initially banned them, then allowed them after Sitz; states like Texas, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho still prohibit them).
• Even in states that allow checkpoints, police must follow strict guidelines (neutral plan in writing, supervisory approval, advance publicity, minimal delay under a couple of minutes, etc.). If they deviate, courts routinely throw out evidence.
• Random roving DUI stops (an officer just pulling over cars that “look suspicious”) are still unconstitutional under Delaware v. Prouse (1979).
In short
Sobriety checkpoints don’t “get around” the Fourth Amendment; the Supreme Court carved out a narrow exception by saying that under tightly controlled circumstances, the public interest in keeping drunk drivers off the road outweighs the brief, non-arbitrary seizure of motorists. If the checkpoint is too intrusive, too random, or poorly run, it’s unconstitutional—even under the federal standard.
Posted by xBirdx
Member since Sep 2018
2246 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 7:00 pm to
There is a law, as long as it’s publicly announced, you pull everyone over, clear signage, and in a reasonable area.

Not sure what “reasonable “ area is.. but regardless, it’s law as long as they follow the rules .
Posted by TigerBait2008
Boulder,CO
Member since Jun 2008
37867 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 7:01 pm to
Whos this alter?
Posted by lsufan1971
Zachary
Member since Nov 2003
23639 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 7:05 pm to
quote:

if you had a loved one killed in a mass shooting you might change your opinion on the 2nd amendmen


quote:

amendment. It still doesn't make you right. It just makes you emotional.


I have had family members killed by a drunk driver. Almost 13k people are killed every year by drunk drivers and another 10k are serially injured. There wouldn’t be a need for checkpoints if assholes didn’t drink and drive.

There were 722 people killed by mass shootings in 2023.
This post was edited on 11/28/25 at 7:06 pm
Posted by All Hat
Member since Nov 2025
110 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 7:07 pm to
quote:


Whos this alter?


Do you think it should be legal for cops to randomly pull people over, without reasonable suspicion, so they can perform a sobriety check ?
You know, just to make sure you aren't drunk.

Because it isn't legal now.
Posted by KosmoCramer
Member since Dec 2007
79900 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 7:07 pm to
quote:

Not sure what “reasonable “ area is


Not always in poor areas
Posted by NotoriousFSU
Atlanta, GA
Member since Oct 2008
11892 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 7:16 pm to
quote:

If it is nothing more than a license check


I’ll piggyback on this point in an unrelated fashion: why is it acceptable to pull someone over while driving (privilege) to check their license, but checking an ID when voting (right) isn’t? Thousands of people across the country dying each year from drunk drivers is apparently more egregious than millions of unverified people electing our representatives to govern over us. Make it make sense.
Posted by Indefatigable
Member since Jan 2019
35666 posts
Posted on 11/28/25 at 7:35 pm to
quote:

And he would have to go on record with a sworn statement regarding his claim of reasonable suspicion, which could be challenged in court if the cop is full of shite. Quite different from cops having the right to just pull you over without cause or suspicion.

Do you have any idea how easy that is for them to do? You make it sound like some substantial deal, and it isn’t.

“No blinker 100 feet before the intersection”, “license plate light was too dim” etc etc. A cop can ostensibly pull anyone over if they’re dedicated to find a reason to do so.

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