Category: Florida DUI Checkpoint
DUI Checkpoint Coming to Brandon, FL, in Hillsborough County on Thursday
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has announced that another DUI Checkpoint will be conducted in Brandon, FL, near JC Handley Park at 3104 S. Kings Avenue and Bloomingdale Avenue. The Brandon DUI Checkpoint will start on July 25th at 10:00 p.m. and is required to end at 4:00 a.m. on July 26th. The Breath Alcohol […]
Written by Jason Miller on July 19, 2013
The DUI Officer Can’t Hold You Down While They Jab a Needle Into Your Arm (at least not without a warrant)
Missouri v. McNeely has been decided. We can all breath a sigh of relief that the United States Supreme Court has affirmed the judgment of the Missouri Supreme Court. The case holds that in a DUI investigation, “the natural dissipation of alcohol in the bloodstream does not constitute an exigency in every case sufficient to […]
Written by Jason Miller on April 17, 2013
The DUI Checkpoint “Fails to Meet Constitutional Muster”
Part III – The Prosecutor’s Internal Memo Explaining Why the DUI Checkpoint “Fails to Meet Constitutional Muster.” Through a public records request we obtained an internal memo from Assistant State Attorney, Vin Petty, to his supervisors, Bernie McCabe, Bruce Barlett, and Mike Halkitis, dated July 3, 2012, explaining why DUI charges should be dropped. An […]
Written by Jason Miller on March 8, 2013
DUI Checkpoint in Pinellas County on Tampa Road
A DUI checkpoint (often called a DUI roadblock) was scheduled last night in Pinellas County on Tampa Road. The law enforcement officers started stopping vehicles traveling on Tampa Road from 10 p.m. Friday, September 28 until 3 a.m. Saturday, September 29. Those vehicles that are selected for further detention were directed into a parking lot […]
Written by Jason Miller on September 29, 2012
Florida Highway Patrol on DUI Checkpoints
Part II – Florida Should Ban DUI Checkpoints or Roadblocks As this case demonstrates, the Florida Highway Patrol should not be trusted to help local law enforcement agencies conduct DUI checkpoints or roadblocks. In these checkpoints thousands of law abiding citizens are delayed, stopped, and questioned. Out of the thousands of stops only a handful […]
Written by Jason Miller on September 10, 2012
DUI Checkpoints in Pinellas County to Increase Throughout 2012
Bob Gualtieri, Pinellas County Sheriff, announced that “Wolfpack patrols” and DUI checkpoints will occur once a month starting in February of 2012. Update: Most recent DUI checkpoint in Oldsmar, Pinellas County FL, on 9/28/12 nets 12 arrests including 5 DUI arrests. The first such DUI roadblock/checkpoint was scheduled for Friday night, February 17, 2012, […]
Written by Jason Miller on February 19, 2012
Status of Florida’s DUI “No Refusal” Policy at Sobriety Checkpoints / Roadblocks
SB 1790 prohibited any state or local law enforcement agency from conducting a “no refusal” DUI checkpoint where a judge is present on site to issue a warrant for a blood alcohol test without the driver’s consent. On May 7, 2011, the Florida legislatures’ Senate Bill 1790 (SB 1790) died in the judiciary committee. The […]
Written by Jason Miller on December 23, 2011
Friday Night’s Pinellas County DUI Checkpoints
You know how we feel about police roadblocks. Not to overstate the concern, but DUI checkpoints or roadblocks represent a serious threat to our Constitutional rights to avoid unreasonable searches. In fact, the Founding Fathers thought the threat of “unreasonable searches” were so important they wrote a limitation against it into the Fourth Amendment. Then […]
Written by Jason Miller on February 21, 2011
The Problem with “No Refusal” DUI Checkpoints in Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL
The news has been filled with stories recently about the new “No Refusal” DUI Checkpoints coming to Tampa Bay. Other counties in Florida have already experimented with forced blood draws after stopping someone for DUI during a checkpoint or roadblock. Could these types of checkpoints be coming to the Tampa Bay area? Update: Since I […]
Written by Jason Miller on January 3, 2011
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office DUI Checkpoint or Roadblock in May of 2010
DUI Roadblocks or Checkpoints in Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL One constitutional requirement for a DUI checkpoint mandates that the checkpoint is scheduled in advance, and that certain details about the roadblock are announced to the public in advance. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office publishes such a list of DUI roadblocks, checkpoints, saturations and heightened patrols. […]
Written by Jason Miller on May 2, 2010