It is true. During my time at LSU, I saw them twice on I-49 while driving home to Shreveport, both times just north of Alexandria. They put the sign about 100 yards ahead of an exit, so your immediate thought is to get off ASAP. The first time I saw that sign I was "riding dirty" and my heart dropped. I gathered my wacky tabacky and paraphernalia and opened my window, ready to drop it out the minute I actually saw the check point. As I went across the overpass, I saw the checkpoint on the exit ramp with two people pulled over and realized what they were doing. After I calmed down a bit, I thought to myself "I bet there are a s***ton of drugs on the median for the 100 yards after that drug checkpoint sign."
Well thats stupid. So if they kick in your door and find something illegal, like a 100 watt bulb, it's ok. That thinking is disturbing.
Not a very good analogy....A 100 watt lightbulb and most other illegal things in your house won't kill someone; a drunk driver might though.
How do you feel about random house checks for drugs? After all isn’t it possible someone on drugs will hop in a car and drive off and kill someone…or maybe even give them to another ... or what if they have unregistered firearms or maybe someone in the house has a bench warrant. The point he was trying to make (at least I think) is that the “random” pulling over of vehicles is not right and the same as knocking down random doors looking for illegal activity. On top of that I think it is ridiculous that two beers will get a DWI, only 16 year old girls are drunk after 2 beers.
Is there even such a thing as random house checks? Drugs, firearms, and dopeheads in their house are no threat to me. If someone gets in their car under the influence, they are a potential threat to me...at that point I have no problem with "random" checks...if a checkpoint is considered random. I understand what he was trying to say....difference is living in your house without someone kicking in your door is a right, and as long as whatever illegal things you are doing in there won't affect me, I couldn't care less. On the other hand, driving on public roads is a privilege given to you by that state and they make the rules. Someone driving under the influence can affect me in a negative way through no actions of my own; checkpoints are a deterrent to that behavior, and I personally have no problem with them. It is, but a number had to be settled on or there would be no way to enforce it.
It certainly is either way. Government has no right w/o probable cause for search and seizure. Pissing on the constitution is never good for those who value freedom. The Fourth Amendment: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Stopping every truck driver and determining if he's too tired to drive would save lives too. Still not worth crapping on our rights bc it may save someone down the line.
You're right, they should of gone with 4 though...but then they would not of gotton as many convictions and not as much money. Did you know that the reason why they can’t kick your door down is that you have a right to privacy? Did you know that the right to privacy extends to your car? Well it does. Officers can’t search your car or persons in your car without probable cause. It is my argument and others that say that choosing random cars and pulling out the driver is a violation of our right to privacy. They have to be random...or else guess what, they are seen too burdensome and unconstitutional by the courts. They have to decide on a system to pull people over, be it every 3rd car or whatever else they can come up with that is reasonable. I'm fine with issuing DWI's ... I just have issues with the checkpoints. I hate cameras at stop lights too BTW, but that is a debate for another day.
DWI checkpoints are unconstitutional and complete bullsh!t as tirk and Bud Lee have pointed out. I'm glad I've never actually been through one because I might not be able to bite my tongue. Any method to avoid or otherwise hamper the effort of dwi checkpoints is great in my book.
A friend of mine went through a DWI checkpoint completely sober, but thought it would be funny to pretend to be drunk. So when they asked him where he was going he slurred his speech, and when they had him get out the car he stumbled. Then he nailed the field sobriety test and blew flat on the breath test. Then he told the cops since they were wasting people's time he was going to was theirs’. He got charged with interfering with a police investigation.
I saw this happen at a road block in Tennessee. The cop was about to ask me for my proof of insurance when a car back behind me pulled a U. He immediately waved me and four other cars through, jumped in his car and headed for the fleeing car. Another time at a drug check road block In Georgia, they had pulled over a car about six in front of me. It was all blinged out with a couple of Hispanics also blinged out. They had the trunk open and the dogs going through the car. They had the attention of all the cops there, who just waved me and about ten other white folks through without a word. I got to thinking . . . a smart drug smuggler could use this to his advantage. if he had a suspicious looking car driving ahead of him to distract the checkpoint officers (and their dog) plus another car trailing him to pull a U to draw away the remaining cops . . . the carrying car could slip right past them.
