Pennsylvania DUI Attorney
Checkpoint and Roadblocks
Under the "Tarbert-Blouse guidelines", to comply with Federal and State Constitution's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures, a sobriety checkpoint must meet the following five criteria: (1) vehicle stops must be brief and must not entail a physical search, (2) there must be sufficient warning of the existence of the checkpoint, (3) the decision to conduct a checkpoint, as well as the decisions as to time and place for the checkpoint, must be subject to prior administrative approval, (4) the choice of time and place for the checkpoint must be based on local experience as to where and when intoxicated drivers are likely to be traveling, and (5) the decision as to which vehicles to stop at the checkpoint must be established by administratively pre-fixed, objective standards, and must not be left to the unfettered discretion of law enforcement officers at the scene. Commonwealth v. Blouse, 531 Pa. 167, 611 A.2d 1177 (1992), and Commonwealth v. Tarbert, 517 Pa. 277, 535 A.2d 1035 (1987).
In Commonwealth v. Fioretti, 371 Pa.Super. 535, 538 A.2d 570, 577 (1988), the Superior Court held constitutional a checkpoint procedure in which "[t]he only discretion exercised by the police would be in deciding whether to discontinue the checkpoint if the traffic backed up."
In Commonwealth v. Worthy, 957 A.2d 720 (Pa., 2008), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that temporary suspension of sobriety checkpoint on three separate occasions during evening at direction of supervising police officer in order to allow traffic to pass through unimpeded to alleviate a traffic back-up did not violate proscription against placing unfettered discretion with on-site officers as to which vehicles to stop at checkpoint. When the checkpoint was in operation, every vehicle was stopped. Only when traffic volume became heavy and resulting back-up caused unreasonable delay did supervising officer temporarily suspend checkpoint operation. There was no evidence that any officer based the decision when to suspend or resume checkpoint operation on characteristics or actions of any particular vehicle or driver.
Officer participating in checkpoint for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) outside his jurisdiction was not authorized to make an arrest, as there was no evidence that request for officer's assistance was made by an authorized officer, or that officer was authorized to conduct official business outside his jurisdiction at the time of arrest. Taylor v. Commonwealth, 948 A.2d 189 (Pa.Cmwlth.,2008).