We've written in the past about North Carolina's practice of using checkpoints in order to arrest individuals suspected of drunken driving. What occurs generally involves the pulling over of drivers and conduct field sobriety tests upon individuals that are suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Though without question, such checkpoints result in an increased amount of DUI arrests, individuals pulled over are frequently arrested for any other number of violations of the law that are unrelated to driving under the influence of some substance. Even if an individual passes a field sobriety test, he may then be arrested for expired tabs or possession of a substance that would never have been discovered if the driver had not been pulled over.

There has been a movement across the country for states to make sobriety checkpoints illegal because of search and seizure issues. New Hampshire has been the latest state to introduce legislation to outlaw these checkpoints, and if such legislation is passed it would become the 13th state to do so.

Whether one agrees or disagrees that such checkpoints should be implemented, those pulled over for DUI related offenses continue to have the right to defend themselves from actions by arresting officers that may violate an individual's privacy and other rights. Too often, the rights of such individuals have been wrongfully taken away before the person pulled over or arrested had the right to speak to their attorney.

Most opponents of the use of checkpoints do feel that there are valid concerns about unlawful searches being conducted while a driver is pulled over and forced to undergo a series of field sobriety tests. While such tests are being conducted, it does give police officers a number of minutes to more closely inspect vehicles for violations that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

Source: Sentinel Source, "A sobering bill," Feb. 2, 2012