Jefferson County’s Council recently voted to reject a $22,000 grant from the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to fund Safety Checkpoints. The Council rejected the funding due to concerns over the intrusiveness of these “safety” checkpoints. It is the first time funds of this nature have been rejected by the Jefferson County Council. Although council members seem to support more traditional sobriety checkpoints, they expressed that safety checkpoints were in the best interest of Jefferson County residents. A safety checkpoint differs from a sobriety checkpoint because the main purpose of a safety check is to make sure people are wearing seatbelts, are licensed to drive, and have valid insurance.

One of the more interesting points of this debate is the seatbelt issue. Although it is illegal in Missouri to drive without wearing a seatbelt, a police officer cannot pull someone over only because no seatbelt is worn. However, the seatbelt issue is one of the main reasons articulated for stopping people at these safety checkpoints. Why would it be legal to set up an entire checkpoint when police cannot legally stop a car even if they know the driver is not wearing a seatbelt?

Checkpoints in general are already a public safety exception to the Fourth Amendment. A previous blog post covered more specifics about the legal issues with sobriety checkpoints. Any type of checkpoint should be administered with discretion, but the Jefferson County Council believes there is no place for safety checkpoints. If you have received a DWI or other charge after a checkpoint stop, please contact Jason Korner for a full explanation of your rights.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Checkpoints to Continue in Jefferson County,” Leah Thorsen, October 19, 2013.

Jefferson County DWI checkpoints have seen a drop activity recently and law enforcement officials in Jefferson County believe social media is to blame. Once a DWI checkpoint has been set up in Jefferson County it usually does not take long for word of that checkpoint to be seen on Facebook and Twitter. This has resulted in much lighter traffic at the DWI checkpoint after the checkpoint has been up for an hour or two.

Jefferson County law enforcement officials have started to make changes to the DWI checkpoint operations in an effort to combat this trend. One particularly interesting tactic the Jefferson County police are starting to implement is moving the checkpoint one or two times during the course of a night. Although this may sound like an effective way to fight the current trend, there may be unintended legal consequences as a result of this new strategy.

DWI checkpoints are a recognized public safety exception to the general rule that the police must have a reason to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that there is a significant public interest in safe roadways so DWI checkpoints are permitted. However, there are certain criteria that any DWI checkpoint must follow for it to be a legal checkpoint under the rules laid out by the Supreme Court. Some of those criteria could be seriously affected by police officers moving a checkpoint to two or more locations on the same night. Roaming DWI checkpoints start to cross the line and become random vehicle stops which are expressly forbidden under Supreme Court law.

As with many new DWI policies that Jefferson County law enforcement may implement, it is important for the experienced DWI lawyers that practice in Jefferson County to challenge these policies so the courts can determine the lawfulness of any new policy. This is especially true when the new policies clearly begin to invade upon the personal freedoms each American citizen should hold so dear.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “DUI Checkpoints in Jefferson County Adapt to Social Media,” Leah Thorsen, April 6, 2013.

– Our firm is experienced in handling DWI checkpoint cases in Jefferson County. To learn more, please see our Jefferson County DWI page.