What Are My Rights at a DUI Checkpoint?

If you are driving on a route in Denver or Brighton that takes you through a DUI checkpoint (also known as a sobriety checkpoint), what are your rights? For many Colorado residents, DUI checkpoints can be anxiety-inducing, and it is not always clear if you have the right to decline certain requests from the law enforcement officials running the checkpoint. While checkpoints are more common at certain times of the year and during particular holidays, it is legal for these to be established at any time. Our Denver DUI defense attorneys can tell you more about checkpoints and your rights.

What is a DUI Checkpoint? 

A DUI checkpoint, or sobriety checkpoint, is essentially a roadblock that is set up by law enforcement officials to check drivers for signs of driving while ability impaired (DWAI) or driving under the influence (DUI). When a sobriety checkpoint gets set up, every vehicle that passes through the checkpoint can be subject to being stopped and being questioned by the police. According to the Colorado State Patrol Department of Public Safety, in stopping and questioning drivers, law enforcement officials “will look for signs that drivers are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.”

If a person shows signs of a DWAI or DUI, then they can be detained at a sobriety checkpoint by law enforcement. These checkpoints occur most commonly on holidays or holiday weekends that tend to involve gatherings and alcohol, including Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, July 4th, Memorial Day weekend, and Labor Day weekend. The summer months are also common for sobriety checkpoints in Colorado and throughout the country.

Your Rights at a Sobriety Checkpoint in Colorado 

Before a sobriety checkpoint can be set up, there must be public notice given of the planned sobriety checkpoint date and location. They also must be established with a process for ensuring drivers can get through relatively quickly without lengthy waiting times.

Once you go through a sobriety checkpoint, you have the same rights you would have in any other circumstance under state and federal law. You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to decline a search of your vehicle, and you have the right to decline a field sobriety test. You also have the right to decline a pre-arrest breath test. To be clear, these tests are not required before an arrest, and you can say no if you are asked to take them without facing any consequences. It is only once an arrest occurs that you are required by state law to submit to a chemical test.

Contact a Denver DUI Defense Lawyer 

Are you facing DWAI or DUI charges after going through a sobriety checkpoint? It is critical to seek advice about your defense strategy from one of the experienced Denver and Brighton DUI defense attorneys at DeChant Law. You do have rights at a sobriety checkpoint, and our firm can help to determine whether those rights may have been violated. Contact us today to begin working on your defense if you are facing DWAI or DUI charges.

Source:

csp.colorado.gov/press-release/impaired-driving-crackdowns-and-checkpoints-june-checkpoints