So people want to know, are DUI checkpoints legal in Florida? And the truth is they are.
But if you got arrested because of a DUI checkpoint, there are a lot of procedures that a law enforcement agency has to follow when doing these types of checkpoints.
Many times a checkpoint is what's called a 'lane squeeze' where they squeeze everybody down to one lane and they do a DUI checkpoint. So some of the considerations that have to go on when you do a DUI checkpoint is one, you start looking at how many agencies are involved. If there's more than one agency there has to be an operational meeting that happens prior to the effectuation of this type of operation. That means all the agencies have to be together and explain how the operation of this lane squeeze or this DUI checkpoint is going to work. They all have to sign in. Officers have to sign in because if an officer wasn't at that meeting, it could actually invalidate your arrest. So that's one procedural aspect of it.
Part of that plan is there has to be a designation of who's going to be pulling over cars and what are the criteria because that can't be done at random. What I mean by can't be done at random is this - an officer at the checkpoint can't just say I'm going to take this car, and then I'm going to take that car, I'm going to take this, this car... What they actually have to do is set parameters. We're going to take four cars at a time and then let four cars go. We're going to take every other car.
There's got to be something and it's got to be built into this operational plan that we previously talked about and it's got to be followed. And if that's not followed, that also could invalidate your arrest for DUI or any other charge. So those are some of the reasons why a DUI checkpoint could be invalidated. They are legal, however, there again has to be a proper procedure followed.
Many times you can see that they're kind of followed, but they're not followed exactly the way that they're supposed to and that's why having an experienced DUI attorney handling your case in a situation like that is going to be your best bet. Now if you have more questions about DUI cases, download our guide "What You MUST Know About Your DUI Case Before You Do Anything". And if you've been arrested or your loved one's been arrested, then download my book "My Loved One Has Been Arrested: What's Next?".
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