California DUI "Sobriety Checkpoints"

A California DUI sobriety checkpoint is a special law enforcement operation using temporary roadblocks on public routes that essentially force drivers to undergo brief contact with the police during which they check for signs of driving under the influence. Where officers detect so-called "objective signs" of driver intoxication, they are then permitted to conduct a full traffic stop and DUI investigation.

Because California DUI sobriety checkpoints have an inherent potential to invade the privacy of law-abiding citizens, the California Supreme Court has laid out certain guidelines the police must obey when conducting them. These guidelines impose procedural responsibilities on the police that exceed those of a typical DUI arrest.

Our Los Angeles DUI Lawyers are familiar with these requirements which range from the simple to the sophisticated. For example, the checkpoint must be reasonably located where a high number of DUI arrests are known to occur; contact with drivers must be brief and only minimally intrusive; the checkpoints must be publically advertised in advance; and drivers who wish to avoid them must be allowed to do so.

This last point is often surprising to people. However, our Los Angeles DUI Lawyers point out that the law allows drivers to avoid California DUI sobriety checkpoints as long as they do not commit a traffic violation when doing so and display no obvious signs of intoxication.

The bottom-line is this: with the additional procedural responsibilities California DUI sobriety checkpoints place on the police come additional possibilities the police will commit some error when conducting an arrest at one. When dealing with these cases, our Los Angeles DUI Lawyers scrutinize every aspect of the checkpoint and arrest and often find errors that result in dismissal or reduction of the charge. Anyone arrested for DUI at a California DUI checkpoint should consult with an attorney immediately.