DUI check points

[Darkstar]

@Blackbelt

That isn’t the point. If these “DUI checkpoints” are supposed to exist (and flaunt the 4th amendment) to get drunk drivers off the road, then that is the only thing they should be doing. NOT writing silly ass tickets.

they are safety checkpoints. As i’m sure you’ve noticed, the right to drive is not a right at all. It’s a privilege. You do not have to drive, and in choosing not to you absolve yourself from ever having to stop at a safety checkpoint. I don’t know how it is up in PA, but down here in MD it’s illegal for the cops to set up a checkpoint without having a clear and able path for you to turn around to avoid the checkpoint. So that’s a double whammy of being able to avoid these “searches” should you choose to do so. It’s not a violation of your 4th amendment rights.

@beat90tsi

Right on Blackbelt.

It is amazing to me that our court system can openly violate the constitution, and people are gullible enough to think that it is for the good of the populace.

Wake up you freaking lemmings, security at the expense of liberty is no security at all.

Here is the battle…which side are you on?

“Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety” – Benjamin Franklin

“The American people must be willing to give up a degree of personal privacy in exchange for safety and security.” – FBI Director Louis Freeh, 1994

this is such a stupid argument. DUI checkpoints are obviously not a violation of the 4th amendment. It’s not stripping you of any liberty or freedom.

@Blackbelt

I do not believe in the legality of a “safety checkpoint”, any more than i believe in the DUI checkpoints. However, we are talking about a matter of degrees. If a drunk driver is identified during a “safety checkpoint”, then of course you arrest him because he represents a clear and immediate threat. However, someone having a burned out left tail light does not represent a clear and immediate threat to ANYONE, so therefore no tickets should be handed out. A warning is sufficient. According to the supreme court, the “excuse” for skirting the 4th amendment is to arrest impaired drivers. That should be their ONLY task at checkpoints…NOT handing out $100 tickets.
If the police secure a search warrant for your home they have to stipulate what it is they are looking for and present reasonable evidence why they believe it is there. If they find something else during the search that is illegal…THAT is inadmissible evidence. (of course they could put it back and go get another warrant and hope it was still there. Checkpoints are similar…they are stopping cars looking for impaired drivers. Nothing else should be bothered with. If they saw some problem with your car that presented a danger to others, then they should impound your vehicle. Short of that, they should inform you of the violation and let you go on your way.
Again, just my opinion as a Libertarian, and i do recognize it is a minority opinion…oh well…LOL

lol I’m a libertarian as well and I think you’re dead wrong on this. because, well… you are. Having to stop at a checkpoint and have a cop look at you for a few seconds and see that you’re not drunk is far from the Gestapo tactics you’re making it out to be.