Thread: Sobriety check points and the 4th amendment

But it is.

If you approach a road block and turn to avoid it, they will come after you. That means by the time you see it, you do not have a choice but to submit to the road block.

But it you're saying it's not compulsory because driving is not required, then I'll make the argument that owning a home isn't required either, so they should be able to search your home, too

Nobody is forcing you to drive, or to even take the route that leads through the checkpoint.

If there are squad cars with flashing lights and road cones and officers flagging down through-passing vehicles, and you chose to drive into this situation rather than around it (or for that matter not at all), you should stop, as by volunteering your way into the checkpoint it's pretty clearly implied that you're volunteering yourself for some simple, lawful contact.

Except that driving is a privilege and not a right.

Yeah, still pondering the question.

...in any case, the "reasonable suspicion" is that, despite there being squad cars blocking the road way, and road cones funneling folks into a lane lined with officers flagging motorists down, the individual in question decided to proceed through the checkpoint.

In other words, as far as I'm concerned, everything about the checkpoint is voluntary. The cops aren't picking you out of a crowd, they're stopping everyone who opts to go through that intersection or down that street.

Of course checkpoints violate the 4th. Interesting point by Zee though.

I know you like to whine about Minnesota and all that. But I'm pretty sure that Minnesota is one of the few states that bars sobriety checkpoints. Furthermore your rant about them pulling you over for no reason is baseless. I have never been pulled over in MN for no reason and I doubt you have anything to back that claim.

/thread

first, they're not my arguments, but I do agree with them.

and I'm talking about legal rights acquired through court decisions, not granted in the constitution. you can call it a de facto "right" to drive if you want, but it became a "right" a while ago even though the state refers to it as a privilege.

I don't hate. If we both are drunk, encounter a road block, you are on your Schwinn Stingray, and I take the John Deere 4040 cross-country, plowing as I go, who are they going to nab first, bikeboy?