Sobriety Checkpoints in Bucks County
If you have been charged with DUI in Bucks County, Pennsylvania because your vehicle was stopped in a DUI sobriety checkpoint, the Bucks County DUI lawyers at Saile & Saile LLP can provide you with an aggressive DUI legal defense.
Bucks County police officers must comply with both Federal and Pennsylvania case law, which interprets both the United States and the Pennsylvania Constitutions. Both the United States Supreme Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court approve of the use of DUI sobriety checkpoints as a legal way to stop and detain drivers in order to evaluate drivers for signs of driving under the influence.
The Bucks County police must “administratively” plan for a DUI sobriety checkpoint. This means that local evaluation must be completed to determine the frequency of DUI arrests in the local Bucks County town. The DUI sobriety checkpoint must then be planned for a certain time of the day or night on a road heavily traveled by Bucks County DUI suspects. The DUI sobriety checkpoint planning process should be done well in advance of the actual day of the Bucks County DUI sobriety checkpoint. A Bucks County DUI sobriety checkpoint should also be well publicized.
Bucks County police must also have a pre-established routine for directing vehicles into a Bucks County DUI checkpoint. It would be illegal for the police to pull over random vehicles as they please.
The Bucks County DUI sobriety checkpoint must also be conducted in a manner that is not overly intrusive. The DUI sobriety checkpoint should only involve a brief set of questions by the police. If the Bucks County police officer suspects that a driver is under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, then there should be a separate physical area where further police questioning and DUI field sobriety tests can be completed.
An experienced Bucks County DUI lawyer can help you determine whether a local DUI sobriety checkpoint was legal. If the Bucks County sobriety checkpoint is proven illegal at the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, then your Bucks County DUI charge may be dismissed entirely. Contact us for a free Bucks County DUI evaluation.
