Articles

Home > Articles > New-hampshire-dui-checkpoints

The State Attorney General’s Office in New Hampshire is going to review a judge’s determination that several drunk driving checkpoints late last year were illegal and unconstitutional.

The judge ruled that the checkpoints, which took place in July of last year, were unconstitutional because they were set up without a required seven-day advance notice.  These requirements are necessary for any drunk driving or DUI checkpoint in New Hampshire, and also in several other states around the country as well.

Because of the dismissal of the checkpoints as many as five DUI convictions were thrown out of court.

The decision, by State Judge Sharon DeVries, cited two Supreme Court cases and brought up the attorney general’s guidelines, all of which say that the public must be notified at least seven days before any checkpoint is administered.  DeVries is well known in New Hampshire as being against aggressive police tactics that border on illegal activity.

Drunk driving checkpoints and their validity and effectiveness are being questioned around the country.  A recent case in Michigan went to the Supreme Court who decided that the stops might be unconstitutional (a violation of protection from unreasonable search and seizure) but that they should still take place because of public safety.  Michigan responded by throwing out the Federal decision, saying it had a right to protect its state citizens.

The issue of drunk driving checkpoints is a contentious one that is expected to face serious debate and scrutiny during the New Year.

Home :: Contact a Criminal Lawyer :: Advertise