Beginning Friday, December 18, 2009, DUI checkpoints throughout Los Angeles as well as the state of California are being planned and put into place as part of a campaign to reduce the number of alcohol related deaths and injuries.
The Santa Monica Police Department is one of the over 400 law enforcement agencies that will conduct a DUI checkpoint this holiday season and beyond. The scheduled DUI checkpoint will be put into place somewhere in the 300 block of Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica on Friday, December 18, 2009.
By law, DUI checkpoints can only be considered constitutional if they meet certain requirements such as the requirements that the public must be given notice of the checkpoint, that there must be a turnout prior to the checkpoint so that people who do not want to proceed through it have the option to turn around without being pulled over based on their decision, that there must be a random, impartial formula for stopping cars, that the length and nature of the detention must not be obtrusive, and that safety conditions must be monitored at the checkpoint.
On Friday, November 20 a DUI Checkpoint was conducted on Lincoln Boulevard, between Pico Boulevard and Michigan Avenue. During that evening, police reports state that 1,667 vehicles entered the checkpoint, 364 vehicles were checked, six vehicles were impounded for unlicensed or suspended driver's licenses, and six misdemeanor citations of various kinds were issued. Two were citations for possession of marijuana and four were traffic related citations. Throughout this enforcement, there were no DUI citations given.
DUI checkpoints have been controversial for years and the legality of their use has been questioned throughout that time as well. DUI checkpoints must meet the above mentioned requirements for an arrest and DUI charge to be valid. If you have been arrested and charged with a DUI, you need an experienced Los Angeles DUI defense team that will work on your behalf to ensure that your rights were not violated at a DUI checkpoint stop and arrest. The Los Angeles DUI defense team at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP has over 50 years of courtroom experience and will devise a defense strategy that can have your DUI case dropped or significantly decrease the severity of associated consequences. If you feel that you were unlawfully stopped and arrested at a DUI checkpoint, contact the Los Angeles DUI defense team at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP at 1-877-781-1570 immediately. Be sure to visit our site at www.laduidefenseteam.com for more information on DUI checkpoints.
