4th of July DUI Checkpoint Stop - Drug Dogs, Vehicle Search, Officer Questioning

DUI Checkpoints are commonplace around holidays, particularly summer holidays such as Memorial Day, Labor Day and Independence Day (4th of July). Officers know seem to use the stops to crack down on drunk driving, driving under the influence, underage drinking, traffic offenses, public intoxication, fake id and other criminal charges.

 

This past 4th of July weekend, a youtube video began circulating showing a young man going through a DUI Checkpoint. Once the video hit youtube, well, you know what happened: It went viral.

The video shows the young man entering the checkpoint, the encounters with the police officers and the subsequent "search" by the drug dogs.

 

The video raises several interesting constitutional and civility issues from the viewpoint of attorneys, police officers and citizens. 

 

I encourage you to watch the video and discuss with your family and friends.

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Pittsburgh Criminal Defense & Injury Attorney Frank Walker
Pittsburgh Criminal Defense - Injury Site
Morgantown, West Virginia Criminal Defense Site
1-800-496-4143 Toll Free
412.315.7441 Office
412.532.6805 Cell

Follow us on Twitter @frankwalkerlaw

The Fourth Amendment - The Warrant Requirement

The Fourth Amendment requires not only that warrants be supported by probable cause offered by a sworn police officer, but it also requires that a warrant "particularly" describe the person or place to be searched or seized.

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Pittsburgh Criminal Defense & Injury Attorney Frank Walker 
Pittsburgh Criminal Defense - Injury Site
Morgantown, West Virginia Criminal Defense Site
1-800-496-4143 Toll Free
412.315.7441 Office 
412.532.6805 Cell

Follow us on Twitter @frankwalkerlaw

Columbus passes texting-while-driving ban

A crackdown on texting while driving is a month away from taking effect following the passage of a city-wide ban at Columbus City Council’s Monday meeting.

Council passed legislation that prohibits using mobile devices to compose, send, receive or read text messages while driving. Under the new law, set to take effect May 5, texting while driving will be a primary offense that will result in a minor misdemeanor charge, punishable by a fine of up to $150.Read more: Columbus passes texting-while-driving ban - Business First of Columbus:

I'll be monitoring the application of this law to see how it is applied. Indeed, many cities, including those in Pennsylvania, will look to pass similar legislation.

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Pittsburgh Criminal Defense Attorney Frank Walker
FrankWalkerLaw.com
Click Here to Visit FrankWalkerLaw on FaceBook
412.281.5423 Office
412.401.1764 Cell

Law Terms: Suppression of Evidence

Suppression of evidence:



1) a judge's determination not to allow evidence to be admitted in a criminal trial because it was illegally obtained or was discovered due to an illegal search. (Pursuant to the 4th amendment of the US Constitution and Article I Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution)



2) the improper hiding of evidence by a prosecutor who is constitutionally required to reveal to the defense all evidence. Such suppression is a violation of the due process clause (5th Amendment, applied to states by the 14th Amendment) and may result in dismissal, mistrial or reversal on appeal, as well as contempt of court for the prosecutor.

Pittsburgh Criminal Defense & Injury Attorney Frank Walker 
Pittsburgh Criminal Defense - Injury Site
Morgantown, West Virginia Criminal Defense Site
1-800-496-4143 Toll Free
412.315.7441 Office 
412.532.6805 Cell

Follow us on Twitter @frankwalkerlaw