Free DUI Lawyer In Florida

Reader’s Question:

My daughter was charged with DUI after she failed the chemical test administered to her to determine her blood alcohol content. But it was through what they call sobriety checkpoint that she was suspected of drunk driving. Is this with compliance of DUI laws in Florida?

Charlene

Pembroke Pines, FL

A DUI sobriety checkpoint is one of law enforcement official’s most direct methods of keeping an eye on DUI offenders, as well as checking vehicle registrations and drivers’ licenses. Florida police officers randomly use checkpoints to catch DUI offenders. Roadside checks allow police officers to monitor in compliance with statutory restrictions and court orders.

The main purpose of these DUI sobriety checkpoints is to ensure that general public is following safety road rules. These checkpoints seem to have become essential for law enforcement officials in Florida.

Sobriety checkpoints hover on a fragile precipice between encroachment upon a citizen’s Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure and legitimate public safety. Issues that fall under this precarious balance comprise of strictness of interference with individual liberty, gravity of public concerns served by the seizure and extent to which the seizure advances public interest. The state of Florida considers DUI checkpoints constitutionally valid. Florida courts found that DUI checkpoints were conducted for the purpose of verifying compliance with DUI laws, therefore a valid exercise of police power.

Florida Highway Patrol promotes safety for drivers using public freeways and to provide a deterrent for those who violate directives contained in Florida Statutes. The purpose of a DUI checkpoint is to increase chances of detection of Driving Under Influence and arrest drivers.