Can a piece of paper get you past an Oklahoma DUI sobriety
checkpoint?
Anyone familiar with the game “Monopoly” – and many people who
are not – recognize the term, "get out of jail free card." The idea
of a quick and easy way out of a potentially complicated situation always has
an allure, in real life as well as in a game. In that vein, an attorney in
another state has devised a card that will supposedly allow drivers to get past
sobriety checkpoints without having to say a word, or in many cases even
rolling down their windows.
DUI Sobriety checkpoints are legal in the state of
Oklahoma. These checkpoints constitute an exception to the general rule that a
police officer must have probable cause to stop a driver for suspicion of drunk
driving, and are permissible as long as long as they meet the requirements of a
legal balancing test that weighs the individual’s rights against unreasonable
searches and seizures against the public interest in keeping the roads safe
from drunk drivers.
Most of the time this balancing of the individual’s rights
against the broader public interest will not result in unjust arrests at a
sobriety checkpoint, and according to the web site for the attorney offering
the “Fair DUI Flyer” it is intended not so much for
drunk drivers as for “liberty activists” and people who are at risk of being
arrested for DUI (that is, people who have had one or more alcoholic beverages
or who have taken certain medicines or drugs before getting behind the wheel,
but who are still sober).
Basically, the idea is to hold up to the driver’s side window a
flyer specific to the state that the driver is in, along with documentation
such as a driver’s license, vehicle registration and proof of current
insurance. The flyer’s reverse side has instructions for the driver, the most
important of which (and which applies to any state, including Oklahoma) is to
exercise his or her right to remain silent. Used correctly, the flyer’s issuer
claims that it will help to avoid needless arrests at sobriety checkpoints.
At present, there appears to be no “Fair DUI Flyer” for use in
Oklahoma. And whether it is prudent to rely solely on a piece of paper to get
through a sobriety checkpoint can be subject to debate: police officers may
take the tactic as a challenge, or worse as antagonistic behavior, and neither
of those approaches is ordinarily advisable as they can lead to more aggressive
conduct on the part of the police.
Still, aside from not talking unnecessarily, some of the advice
found on the flyers can be helpful no matter where you are, such as obeying
lawful orders that a police officer gives you, and to never physically resist
the police. In Oklahoma, the police have the right to ask you to step out of the vehicle.
If you want to learn more about DUI stops in general, our Oklahoma
DUI Defense Website contains a wealth of free information for you,
including ways to contact us if you have specific questions or need to schedule
an appointment for an initial consultation.
Oklahoma DUI Attorney
Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers
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