Plano DWI Lawyer Blog

On July 8, 2010 the Texas Sentate Criminal Justice Commitee heard wide ranging testimony
on DWI policy. Among the topics discussed were the surcharges imposed on people convicted of DWI and the potential for legislation authorizing sobriety checkpoints.

At the Dallas Morning News, it was reported that witnesses testified that,

"stiff civil fines and mandatory punishments have prompted those arrested for driving while intoxicated to refuse plea deals and probation that could include treatment and alcohol monitoring. Instead, they are insisting on jury trials."

Resulting in a  "20 percent drop in conviction rates since 2005, and a court backlog of 125,000 casescivil fines and mandatory punishments have prompted those arrested for driving while intoxicated to refuse plea deals and probation that could include treatment and alcohol monitoring. Instead, they are insisting on jury trials."

It doens't appear that any of the witnesses attributed any portion of the drop in conviction rates to not guilty verdicts delivered by juries due to the filing of marginal or poorly investigated cases.

The Houston Chronicle coverage of the hearings reported on testimony concerning the potential that Texas may move forward on establish the legal framework authorizing sobriety checkpoints.  As I have blogged about in the past, The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled approximately fifteen years ago that sobriety checkpoints, without specific legislative authorization, are unreasonable and therefore unconstitutional.  Since that time, the political will to pass law establishing such checkpoints has not existed.  Perhaps that is changinng, perhaps not.

  In some of the testimony yesterday, Bill Lewis of M.A.D.D. analogized the public roads of Texas with airport security checkpoints while testfiying in support of checkpoints.  Said Mr. Lewis "I've never tried to carry a gun into the airport or the Capitol or the Senate gallery, yet I go through a checkpoint." 

There will always be a tension between public safety and individual privacy as guaranteed by the Constitution.  If Mr. Lewis envisions a society in which travel n public roads is as intrusive and regulated as passing through airport security, I must confess that I don't share the same view.

 

Lawmakers in Austin are considering the adoption of legislation that would authorize the establishment of sobriety checkpoints in Texas.  Senator John Carona R- Dallas has introduced SB 298 and Representative Todd Smith R- Euless authored HB 169. Both bills would authorize sobriety checkpoints. A sobriety checkpoint is a police investigation during which all motorists passing through a particular location at a particular time have their car stopped by the police. If you pass through a sobriety checkpoint police will stop your car without any level of suspicion that you are engaged in some wrongdoing. For example, at a checkpoint you may be stopped without any indication that you are Driving While Intoxicated (DWI).

It is for this reason that many people believe that sobriety checkpoints violate individual rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure guaranteed under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In fact, in a pair of cases decided by our Court of Criminal Appeals fifteen years ago known as Sanchez v. State, 856 S.W.2d 166 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993) and Holt v. State, 887 S.W.2d 16 (Tex. Crim. App. 1994), the Court held that sobriety checkpoints established without specific legislative authorization, did in fact violate the Fourth Amendment.

Well, fast forward fifteen years and that specific legislative authorization is poised to become law. Very soon, sobriety checkpoints may be a reality for all Texas motorists.