Your Rights at DUI Checkpoints
A DUI checkpoint, also known as a sobriety checkpoint, is a location where law enforcement officers are stationed to check drivers for signs of intoxication and impairment. If you find yourself pulled over at a DUI checkpoint, it’s important to know your rights.
At the checkpoint, you must:
- Pull over if the officer signals you to
- Provide the office your license, registration, AND proof of insurance
- Exit the vehicle when asked
- Take a preliminary breath test
If you deny a breath test, you will be arrested, and the officer will administer a required breath or blood test at the station. If you deny the test at the station, your license will be suspended.
At the checkpoint, you are allowed to:
- Record your traffic stop
- Speak as little as possible
- Invoke the fifth amendment right to stay silent
- Say you’d like to speak to an attorney before asking any questions
- Not consent a search of your vehicle
- Demand a warrant for a vehicle search
- Deny a field sobriety test
- Say you’d like to speak to an attorney before performing any test
At the station, you are allowed to:
- Invoke the fifth amendment right to stay silent
- Say you’d like to speak to an attorney before consenting to any test
Recording Checkpoints
The first amendment protects your right to photograph and record in public. As long as you don’t get in their way, it’s perfectly legal to take photos and videos of police officers in every state. If an officer is blocking or obstructing the camera and ordering you to stop recording them, they’re violating your first amendment right.
If you’re going to record an office, it must be done openly and not surreptitiously (a number of states bar people from recording private conversations without consent).
If you’ve been charged with driving under the influence, it’s vital to contact a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. Arizona has strict DUI laws, and you don’t want a DUI on your record. Request a free consultation with Nava Law Firm today.
