re: DUI Checkpoints: What are the laws surrounding them?

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I feel like they cut back tremendously once Uber became a thing. They were everywhere 10-15 years ago

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They cut back in a big way these last 3 years due to COVID. I was told here in Lafayette police were not enforcing most traffic laws (they wouldn't pull you over for speeding unless you were speeding at an outrageous level, etc...), because they were told not to come in contact with the public unless absolutely necessary.

I'm sure this has changed in the last 6 months or so, though. I have not heard of checkpoints in the city recently, but I could just be out of the loop.

Know the side/back roads. I don’t drink and drive but morons who continue to go thru these or travel on main patrolled roads are indeed morons.

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I wasn’t presenting an argument, genius

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obviously. You missed the sarcasm.

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In many small towns there is no Uber option. None in my town and the taxis shut down at 9PM. Know why they shut down at 9PM? Because they are subsidized by the city and the city sets the hours. They don't want the cabs running during bar hours as it cuts into their DUI revenue. The local cops have pretty much killed the bar biz in this town as the constantly drive through the parking lots or past the bars all night long. Picked up four separate people one night that were all at the same bar.

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That’s got to be illegal? NAZI level crap there baw. Shut off the cabs and patrol the parking lot. Damn son.

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get it - police state blah blah blah - but why bring that on yourself? The time to fight it isn't AT the checkpoint.

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You waive your right to privacy any time you consent to a search. Good luck fighting that in court.

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WI has that as well.

If you refuse it's an automatic revocation and they still haul you to the hospital to get blood drawn.

Basically you can't refuse. They'll strap you down if need be

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It's worse than that... A lot of checkpoints have a magistrate live on site to sign any search warrant and rule what constitutes probable cause .

Well, as expected, this thread contains some of the worst and most erroneous legal advice imaginable.

I'm not your lawyer, I've never done a DWI case, and this isn't legal advice but let me attempt to answer the the OP.

Yes, DWI checkpoints are legal. See State v. Jackson. You do have to stop at the checkpoint. See below for what happens next. It is important to note that this is a suspicionless stop. The law here is different than a normal encounter where the police cannot even question you without probable cause or reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed. You have given implied consent to such encounters by driving on the public roadway (cough cough bullshite).

When you are stopped by the police in Louisiana in any context, you are always required to identify yourself with your name and address. You can do this verbally or by handing over ID.

In traffic stops, like a checkpoint, you are required to produce a license, registration, and proof of insurance if asked.

You are never required to verbally talk to police. However, the SCOTUS has held that in order to adequately invoke your right to silence and to legal representation, you have to make that invocation known. That usually means verbally advising the officers, but you could theoretically print these invocations on a card or piece of paper and display them that way.

Now, let's be real, the whole point of this question is how you can beat these checkpoints and the answer is that there really isn't a surefire way. All the officer has to do is say "his eyes were glazed and red and irritated and he was extremely jumpy. Because of those factors I asked him to submit to a field sobriety test and he refused. He also refused the breathalyzer." Boom, they've got you. You refused the test, arrest gets made, and the license suspension is automatic. You can fight both the arrest/dwi charge and the suspension in court and in a DMV administrative hearing. You may even win, but you are definitely not driving your car home from the checkpoint.

Basically, if you pull up and hang a ziploc bag with your ID and invocations of the 4th and 5th amendments out the window, any cop with an IQ over 90 is going to realize that you aren't playing ball and that if he wants to escalate the situation, he will need to note something about your appearance or behavior that suggests impairment. What you are hoping for is the retard who says "he was acting weird with his refusal to talk and his little card thingy asking for an attorney so I figured something must be going on here." Even then, his supervisor might make sure he adds something to the effect of "lol oh yeah and bloodshot eyes and slurring his words," curing his probable cause problem.

The only guaranteed way to completely big league them is to be sober, hand over ID, say "no searches, remaining silent, want an attorney," and record the entire encounter showing that your eyes are not bloodshot and glazed, your speech is clear, and you are not oddly fidgeting around. The cop will have to make up some bullshite, after which you refuse the field sobriety test and breath test. He may then take you to a medical facility to have blood forcibly drawn. Your tests come up negative, you get released, and then you can pay a civil lawyer to sue them for an illegal arrest. This is a completely separate can of worms. Keep in mind that an officer can have probable cause to make the arrest EVEN IF YOU AREN'T ACTUALLY IN FACT IMPAIRED. Innocent people get legally arrested all the time when the circumstances make them look guilty.

At the end of the day, it's a balancing act and getting a professional officer because, even though it's not legal, invoking your rights does raise their suspicion. It triggers a form of gamesmanship where they think 1) what's going on here and then 2) how do I not screw this up if I'm going to try to escalate?

Personally, I hand over my license, insurance, and registration and tell them I don't consent to any searches or questioning without my attorney and let them take it from there.

Any of you baws who actually do DWI defense please chime in and correct me on any of this. The responses from the first page were just so bad that I had to try.

Again, this post is not legal advice.

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. If you have not committed a crime you don’t even need to identify yourself. Reasonable articulable suspicion is what they need. You driving your car legally down the road is not enough.

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I think some states have statutes that require basic identification when driving. Not even close to an expert though.

That’s the information I was looking for.

Thanks

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Yes. You have to answer their questions or plead you want an attorney.

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You have the right to remain silent. You NEVER have to help an officer with his/her investigation. I believe the only thing you have to tell them is your name and date of birth ONLY IF you are arrested.