OFF THE WIRE
Police in Bedford, NH recently obtained a court order to conduct a “sobriety checkpoint” as required by state law:
NH RSA 265:1-a Sobriety Checkpoints
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no law enforcement officer or agency shall establish or conduct sobriety checkpoints for the purposes of enforcing the criminal laws of this state, unless such law enforcement officer or agency petitions the superior court and the court issues an order authorizing the sobriety checkpoint after determining that the sobriety checkpoint is warranted and the proposed method of stopping vehicles satisfies constitutional guarantees.
So, essentially, these checkpoints legally need to be about catching drunk drivers.
Getting the court to approve such an order requires a legal showing that such government action is actually required to protect the public from the dangers of impaired motor vehicle operators.
The Union Leader reports that out of 268 suspicion-less detentions, 11 people were arrested, only 1 was actually driving while intoxicated.
That’s a pathetic 0.373% success rate.
So Soviet-era checkpoints are necessary to catch drunk drivers and are not intended to enforce other criminal laws?
I’ve caught more drunk drivers by simply watching a stationary curve in the roadway… and I didn’t have to mass interfere with the freedom of movement we’re supposed to have in this county.
