A DWI checkpoint is an exception to the constitution. The general rule is that you can’t be stopped by police for no reason. In a checkpoint the police set up a program to stop drivers for no specific reason just to see if they are impaired. In order for a checkpoint to valid and stand up in court it needs to meet certain criteria.

For example it needs to be publicized in advance to give notice to the public.

It must be established via a set of guidelines and rules.

It must be overseen at a programmatic level not just by a few officers with nothing else to do.

Records must be kept of who was stopped and what arrests were made.

The checkpoint must be authorized via a justification based on reason and statistics explaining why the location date and time was chosen.

These are very specific and often the police have problems showing these checkpoints were done correctly. This issue can be a way into win a DWI case. If you want to talk about a questionable checkpoint in your case give me a call and let’s chat about it. 212-372-7218 or 973-854-0008