Baton Rouge Judge Rules DWI Checkpoints Unconstitutional, Throws Out Case

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) –

A key piece of evidence in a Baton Rouge drunk driving case has been tossed out of city court. The ruling could have a major impact on future DWI trials.

Baton Rouge attorney Cliff Ivey took one of his DWI cases to trial last week. The case went before Baton Rouge City Court Judge Yvette Alexander. Ivey claims the Baton Rouge Police Department not only messed up the checkpoint in which his client was stopped, but all checkpoints since 2010.

“The sobriety checkpoint that the Baton Rouge Police Department ran December 2010 was done so in a manner that was unconstitutional,” says Ivey.

City Court Judge Yvette Alexander agreed with Ivey and ruled that way last Wednesday in a case in front of her. As a result any evidence the police got from that check point would be inadmissible according to Ivey.

The Supreme Court rules on DWI checkpoints are clear. The officer who decides when and where the checkpoint will be cannot be involved in the actual performance of the checkpoint.

If that rule is not followed, which Ivey says he proved was not, any evidence recovered at the checkpoint is not allowable in court; effectively dismissing the case.

http://www.wafb.com/story/22378457/judge-baton-rouge-police-dwi-checkpoints-unconstitutional

Although this is a step in the right direction, one could easily argue the 4th ammendment,

The Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.

The Supreme Court also held that individuals in automobiles have a reduced expectation of privacy, because vehicles generally do not serve as residences or repositories of personal effects. Vehicles may not be randomly stopped and searched; there must be probable cause or reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

I don’t condone drunk driving, but the law of the land is the constitution, and cops are sworn to uphold the constitution.

Maybe they should actually read it.