Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
The Florida Second District Court of Appeals reversed a case in 2008, because the Florida DUI checkpoint did not have sufficient guidelines. In
Guy v. State, 993 So. 2d 77 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2008), the police department set forth a plan for a DUI checkpoint. The plan states that every vehicle would be stopped and checked, but if the traffic backed up, the supervisor “would develop a contingency plan either temporarily closing the checkpoint until the traffic cleared or changing the number of vehicles to be stopped.” Id. at 79. This DUI checkpoint violated the guidelines set forth by the Florida Supreme Court, because if left “the vehicle selection procedure to the discretion of a field officer to develop a contingency plan on the spot in the event of a traffic backup.” Id.
The court held that “the State did not show that the operational plan sufficiently limited the discretion of the officers as to the selection of vehicles and, to a lesser extent, the testimony showed that the officers did not strictly adhere to the written plan.” Id. at 80. Therefore, the Defendant’s motion to suppress should have been granted. Id.
If you have been stopped at a Ponte Vedra DUI checkpoint or any other DUI roadblock in the Jacksonville area, contact Jacksonville DUI Attorney to discuss your case and to make sure your rights are being protected moving forward.