DUI Checkpoint Tonight in Plant City, FL

DUI Checkpoint in Plant City, FL

The laws surrounding DUI checkpoints and roadblocks are strange. For instance, law enforcement officers are required to announce certain details about the DUI checkpoint in advance to the public.

In order to comply with this requirement, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has announced that it will conduct a “lowman checkpoint and saturation” in the eastern part of Hillsborough County. This part of Plant City is part of HCSO’s District II area. At the roadblock, all cars will pass through a set of cones with officers standing on either side of the road. The areas must be designed as a roadblock with a sign that says “Checkpoint.” The officers are suppose to select vehicles randomly in a manner that is pre-determined and spelled out in a set of written guidelines.

What Happens in a DUI Checkpoint in Plant City?

Of those vehicles passing through the first part of the roadblock, the officer will randomly select vehicles to be stopped near 902 N. Alexander Street in Plant City, FL tonight. The checkpoint will last from Thursday, December 13, 2012 from 10 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. the next morning. The guidelines usually require every second or every third car to be stopped for further detention in a second staging area that is off the roadway.

The checkpoints are not a particular effective way of finding drunk drivers although the officers do issue a lot of civil infractions for things like not wearing a seat belt, expired tag, or driving on a suspended driver’s license. Searches of vehicles can result in charges of possession of marijuana. Anyone stopped in a checkpoint and charged with any criminal offense should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney.

Motions to Suppress Evidence Obtained During a Sobriety Checkpoint

Checkpoint cases are the most scrutinized type of case and any mistake in conducting the roadblock could result in it being declared unconstitutional. If the proper motions are filled, the courts are required to exclude or suppress any evidence obtained by law enforcement if the checkpoint is declared unconstitutional. This means that the charges will be dismissed in those cases.

Thursday, Dec 13, 2012 Lowman Checkpoint & Saturation 2200 hrs. to 0300 hrs. District II – Eastern Hillsborough Co. 902 Alexander Street – NO BAT OR TRANSPORT

Operation 3D

In Hillsborough Couny, Florida, a DUI Task Force has been created called “Operation 3D.” The task force includes law enforcement officers from several agencies including the Plant City Police Department, Tampa Police Department (TPD), Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), Florida Highway Patrol, and the University of South Florida (USF) Police Department. This “Operation 3D” DUI Task for will conduct these checkpoints several times a month at locations throughout Hillsborough County, FL.

Click here to see the Hillsborough County DUI Task Force’s list of locations and dates for scheduled roadblocks – DUI checkpoints locations in Hillsborough County.

DUI Prosecutions in Plant City, FL

For any DUI or other misdemeanor arrest made in the eastern part of Hillsborough County, those cases are funneled into the Plant City Courthouse. One judge, the Honorable Art McNeil, County Court Judge, Hillsborough County, FL, is currently assigned all misdemeanor cases for arrests that occurred in the eastern part of Hillsborough County.

2 comments

    1. You can get the operation plan from a public record request to the agency. For the advance notification issue, they hide it somewhere – like a quick notice on their website the day of. But if there is no advance notification – or it is hidden somewhere – that would be an issue that can be raised in a motion to suppress evidence from an illegal checkpoint. Without advance notice – the checkpoint is invalid.

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