Police Run Multiple Holiday Sobriety Checkpoints in Fort Myers-Cape Coral Area
As Sarasota drunk driving criminal defense lawyers, we were disappointed to see news that showed two DUI checkpoints in as many weeks in the greater Fort Myers-Cape Coral area. According to a Dec. 12 article in the Fort Myers News-Press, the North Fort Myers police conducted a roadblock in that city last Friday night, resulting in six DUI arrests and 13 written warnings. Officers at the checkpoint also issued 33 traffic citations and found three drivers without a valid license and five others with suspended licenses. On Dec. 14, the same newspaper reported that the Fort Myers police plan another checkpoint this coming weekend, at an undisclosed location in the city. The article said the goal is not only to remove intoxicated drivers from the road, but to deter drunk driving and raise public awareness of the problem.
A sobriety checkpoint is a roadblock in which drivers passing the location must stop and be checked for signs of intoxication, even if there’s no special reason to suspect them. Those the officers believe to be intoxicated are generally directed off the road and into a special area where they are asked to submit to field sobriety tests and a breathalyzer. Despite the fact that this violates our legal system’s presumption of innocence until proven guilty, and our constitutional right to be free of illegal searches, the Supreme Court has ruled that DUI checkpoints are perfectly legal. (Many South Florida DUI defense attorneys call this “the DUI exception to the Constitution.”) In fact, they are especially likely to be used during the holidays, when police agencies believe more intoxicated drivers than average are likely to be on the road. This may explain why law enforcement agencies have planned two in two weeks in the same metropolitan area.
Our Naples drunk driving defense attorneys are against drunk driving -- but we also believe DUI roadblocks have serious flaws. Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, enough Fourth Amendment concerns about the practice remain that several states have outlawed sobriety checkpoints entirely. On a more practical level, there is also an argument that sobriety checkpoints don’t work as well as larger numbers of patrols at finding intoxicated drivers. Roadblocks rely on chance to find drunk drivers, and drivers who have already passed through are free to warn their friends to take another route. By contrast, heightened patrols can seek out and stop erratic drivers who may be intoxicated, without wasting police time on sober people. According to the newspaper, the North Fort Myers checkpoint processed 966 vehicles but made only 6 DUI arrests -- 0.62% of all the drivers they saw. And roadblocks are considerably more expensive than sending extra officers out to patrol the streets.
Nonetheless, all of the same defenses that would apply in any ordinary DUI case still apply when the stop is part of a sobriety checkpoint. Balliro, Galasso, Leskovich & Seltzer can and does defend people who are arrested for DUI during a roadblock. Because these arrests almost never come after a crash, our Punta Gorda DUI defense lawyers can often mount a strong defense to the charges. Depending on the circumstances, we may be able to challenge the use of a breath test; the handling of the evidence; actions by law enforcement that violated your rights; or whether you meet the legal definition of “intoxicated” in the first place. We also defend clients in DHSMV driver’s license suspension hearings, and help them apply for any hardship license necessary for them to continue going to work to support themselves and their families.
You don’t have to plead guilty to intoxicated driving in Florida just because the police think you’re guilty. Before you make a decision you can’t reverse, you should call BGL&S for a free, confidential evaluation of your case. To set up a consultation, you can call us, 24 hours a day, toll-free from anywhere in Florida at 1-866-ARRESTED or send a message through our Web site.
