U-Turn before sobriety checkpoint leads to cannabis arrest in Georgia

Bainbridge News Road Check U-Turn’s not Good
A u-turn just before a road check makes it pretty obvious the driver does not want to be checked.  And typically that is the reason a road check is set up.

Saturday evening, Georgia State Patrol and Decatur County Deputies had a road check set up on Highway 309 south.  About midnight on Saturday, a car made a u-turn back towards Bainbridge.  Troopers Walt Landrum and JF Jackson and Sheriff’s Deputies went after him.

Trooper Landrum caught up with them on West Street at Love Street.  Just before they stopped, he spotted something thrown out the window of the car and noted where it landed.  Trooper Landrum found several open bottles of liquor and marijuana in the vehicle.  Deputy Simmons found the small package of marijuana thrown from the moving vehicle.

These sobriety checkpoints are used by police in 38 states to capture suspected DUI drivers.  Typically they set up a roadblock on a busy road in the late evening or early morning and briefly stop drivers that pass through, sometimes in a pattern, like “every fourth driver”.

Wait, you think, random police searches based on no probable cause?  Can that be Constitutional?

Unfortunately, yes it is.  While the 4th Amendment protects us from unreasonable police searches and seizures without probable cause or a warrant, the key Supreme Court decision here, called Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz, ruled that randomly delaying you for a half-minute wasn’t unreasonable if it keeps drunks off the road.  The government claims the sobriety checkpoints work – the CDC offers a figure of a 20% reduction in DUIs – however, many others point out that DUI fatalities have leveled off since these checkpoints became legal, while they were declining before then, and that roving patrols for DUI catch three times more DUIs than roadblocks do.

The states where you are safe from these intrusions of privacy, either because the state lacks the authority or its constitution forbids it, are Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

If you approach one of these checkpoints, don’t make an illegal u-turn!  Remember, most are picking drivers by random pattern; there is a good chance you won’t even be stopped.  If you are stopped, roll down your window only partway enough to hand over your license and registration.  Don’t talk or answer questions, just say, “Officer, I’m not comfortable answering a bunch of questions right now.  Am I free to go?”  Remember, things you say will be used against you; you have a right to remain silent – use it!

If you’re then pulled over for further harassment, do not consent to any searches.  If you leave your car, roll up the window and lock it behind you.  Refuse to take any roadside impairment tests, such as saying the alphabet or walking a line – you are not required to do so and why give police more evidence to use in court against you?  Don’t submit to any “D.R.E.” tests (so-called “drug recognition experts”) which are subjective and unscientific.  The only thing you should be submitting to is a breathalyzer or urine screen, as in most states you have given implied consent to take one just by driving and refusing one is usually as bad as getting the DUI.