Are You Aware of the Ziplock Method for DUI Checkpoints? Video included

[Miigwech]

[link:http://thefreethoughtproject.com/aware-ziplock-method-dui-checkpoints-watch-learn/|

Chiefland, FL — In a video posted to youtube this week, a novel and simply astonishing example of how to deal with DUI checkpoints, was illustrated by the guys from FairDUI.org.

Sobriety checkpoints — also known as DUI checkpoints — are the most common roadblocks you might encounter. They function as a general purpose investigatory tactic where police can get a close look at passing motorists by detaining them briefly. A roadblock stop is quick, but it gives police a chance to check tags and licenses, while also giving officers a quick whiff of the driver’s breath and a chance to peer into the vehicle for a moment.

Remember that your constitutional rights still apply in a roadblock situation. Though police are permitted to stop you briefly, they may not search you or your car unless they have probable cause that you’re under the influence or you agree to the search. As such, you are not required to answer their questions or admit to breaking the law.

In the video, a man hangs his registration, insurance, and driver’s license from his rolled up window inside a ziplock freezer bag, in order to proceed through a DUI checkpoint.

Also in the bag is a flyer, which states:


I remain silent

No Searches

I want my lawyer

Please put any tickets under windshield wiper.

–CPLR §308 & Pacamor, 132 Misc.2d 269 (1986)

I have to show you my papers not hand them to you.

–VTL §312(b), §401(4), §507

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/aware-ziplock-method-dui-checkpoints-watch-learn/#QUHESy4pvTrZwt6w.99

[BillZBubb]

1. If you are a black driver, don't try this!

They'll call it probable cause.

[benz380]

2. According to the site, only blacks were held for secondary questioning or arrested. Nt

[Jackpine Radical]

5. There is absolutely no question in my mind

that minorities, particularly blacks, are singled out for "special" treatment by the police. The most powerful tool we have is the capacity to collect information (mostly video) and distribute it widely. That is what we need to do, imho. Fight back with our own dashcams, iphones, internet skills, etc. I don't know a fast way to make the craziness stop, but I think we will reach a point where the public once again awakens from their denial.

I didn't look at the site yet, but it's notable that they had access to the race data.

[barbtries]

9. i do VIP (victim impact panels)

for MADD, where i speak to offenders about my daughter. This is in Durham NC...about 75% or so of the people showing up are latinos. please don't tell me that profiling is not going on. it is simply not credible that most impaired driving is committed by a minority of the population.
as the bereaved mother of a victim i want to see impaired driving wiped off the planet. not at the cost of the constitution - it should not have to be at such a cost.
having said all that, the best way to get through a checkpoint is sober.

[groundloop]

17. You're absolutely correct

I knew a wonderful 8 year old boy who was killed by a driver who was impaired. All the grief from that wound up tearing the remaining family apart, very very sad situation. I have no room for anyone who drives while impaired.

(I also don't condone abusing the constitution).

[barbtries]

33. thank you groundloop

the key has to be education.

[nichomachus]

38. And for me,

"impaired" means not only under the influence of substances, but people who are sleep deprived, eating, drinking, texting, talking on the phone, putting on makeup, doing their hair -- and the woman I once saw from a bus window who was driving at 60 mph on an interstate while changing her baby on the front seat. They are all just as dangerous as a drunk driver.

[yourmovemonkey]

23. You're totally right barbtries

I lost my brother to a driver who was on drugs almost exactly 2 years ago. The representative from MADD was very supportive and helpful through the whole trial.

Unfortunately, my brother's killer was a handsome blond haired, blue eyed white kid, whose family could hire a really sleazy expensive lawyer. After the 2 and a half week trial, the jury only found him guilty of driving under the influence because the blood tests were incontrovertible. They didn't even find him guilty of possession of the three packets of heroin that were in the driver's door pocket of HIS truck. The jury bent over backward twisting logic to let a murderer go free.

When I spoke to one of the ADAs after the trial, I asked him how this would have turned out if the kid had been black and poor. He told me that it never would have even gone to trial.

[barbtries]

32. so sorry about your brother

and the added complication of having to live with a travesty of justice. i recently advocated for a family whose son was killed and the killer got only 18 months. the day the DA told us about the plea deal with my daughter's killer remains the 2nd worse day of my life. it was like they were killing her all over and there i was sitting in the room this time.

i think it's because so very many people have driven impaired and tend to think it could have been them, in the killer's shoes. but they say it's the lack of intention to commit a crime. well i don't believe that. anyway don't get me started. don't want to highjack the thread. thank you for your comments.

[davidpdx]

25. I am sorry about your daughter, no one should have to bury their children

My former brother-in-law was convicted of manslaughter for killing his girlfriend while intoxicated in either North or South Carolina (can't remember). I never met him and was only married to his sister for a short period of time, but was at home when she got the call. All I can remember is being just shocked. He got 15 years in prison. Two lives ruined forever, what a waste.

[barbtries]

31. thank you davidpdx

his life didn't have to be ruined forever. hopefully he did his time gainfully and got out wiser. i like the sentence though; my daughter's killer got only 4 years and was out in a little more than 2.

[davidpdx]

34. Wow, that is an extremely light sentence

The one thing my ex-brother-in-law had against him is he had several DUIs in two states and a suspended license.

[benz380]

35. Since you're in NC...

...what do you think of the sentence that Melissa Marvin received for killing those 4 girls and injuring the boy? I believe it was a proper sentence. I only wish other offenders would get more time than they do. People are still arguing about this online. Thanks.

[barbtries]

41. i was not familiar with the case

only got here in 2007
but i think it was fair. she was a repeat offender and she was at about .28 when she killed those kids.
when the person who killed my daughter was given a plea deal and only 4 years, it was like they were killing Bekah all over again. It was like saying Bekah was chopped liver.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. That's great.

A strange thought springs to mind--One very useful and potentially effective tactic would be to gather simple information like this & find ways to distribute it out where it's needed, among the disenfranchised. The thought expands into the notion of a "street survival academy" that teaches this stuff pus how to behave in a cop stop so as to minimize your risk of being abused or killed. Also training on how to use smart phones & other small video devices effectively to get the highest-quality information & documentation of events.

[Mariana]

4. I like it.

I've done the "open the window a quarter inch, just barely enough to slide out the license and registration". The baggie is better.

[Raine1967]

6. I have a problem with this.

And that problem is that people should not be driving under the influence. This will require a lot of extra time at DUI checkpoints preventing drunk drives from being removed from the road.

I understand constitutional rights, I get that but this looks an awful lot like a way to try to get away with breaking the law.

[ret5hd]

7. Yes. We should all volunteer to surrender our civil rights on the fear that...

somebody else may do something that we all know is wrong and dangerous.

I, for one, hail your patriotic fear. Will anyone else stand with us?

[Raine1967]

21. Nice hyperbole.

I posted my feeling about and this is your response?

I am not a fan of DUI. No apologies will be given for that.

[H2O Man]

24. I agree.

I find that not drinking and driving is the best way to avoid hassles with police who are conducting these road checks.

[Luminous Animal]

8. No. It looks like the person is exercising their constitutional rights.

More people need to understand what they are, why our founders found them important enough to enumerate them and how to stand up for them.

[840high]

10. What if they're driving drunk?

[Luminous Animal]

13. What if they are not? Rights are for all. That is why they are called

rights. Are far are you willing to take this? Cavity searches just in case?

[840high]

29. Don't get crazy - I never

suggested cavity searches. My daughter and grandson were almost killed by a drunk driver.

[imthevicar]

15. Then the Police

Can pull them over, not wait for someone who hasn't had a drink all day, coming home after a late shift, that gets stopped at a Papers check point. so some copper can make a quota saying "you smell like booze, pot etc". just to look for other ways to generate Income. Because lets face it that is 90% of a modern policeman's job.

[pnwmom]

18. Then they will be swerving, driving very slowly, or doing other things that show

they might be drunk. If they're not, they shouldn't be pulled over.

[Historic NY]

12. Well it certainly sets of signals for further field investigation

and field sobriety tests. Depending on your state I'd be careful and check those laws. There is case law on the legalities of the checkpoints and the SCOTUS ruled they were constitutional and not a violation of the 4th amendment. There are certain hoops that must be met including radomness. I'd use caution, a video isn't a good reason to believe otherwise.


http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/12/02/texas-ammosexual-calls-police-criminals-for-running-dui-checkpoint-then-gets-hit-by-drunk-driver/

[Skittles]

14. they'd assume you were impaired and simply follow you

no doubt you'd f*** up out of sheer nervousness, drunk or not

[Raine1967]

40. Yes, there is case law and some states ban it.

I just personally don't believe that the approach the OP has submitted is very smart at all.

This is the case law you are referring to, correct? http://traffic.findlaw.com/traffic-stops/are-dui-checkpoints-legal-.html

[dsc]

36. the check points don't work very well

the drunk drivers find out about them and avoid them as they are drunk not stupid.

[joeglow3]

39. The few times I have been questionable, I just drove slow and took neighborhoods.

Much lower risk.

[jtuck004]

11. But if you are asked to sign the citation in lieu of being arrested,

you may want to open that window. It's a legal requirement in at least a couple states.

Or don't. It gets a little monotonous just standing there..

[1monster]

16. Tampa Bay area sheriff says he will arrest anyone using the Ziplock method at check points for

obstruction of an investigation.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/27777855/sheriff-use-dui-video-tactics-risk-being-arrested-for-obstruction

We showed the video to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. He said try it in Pinellas and you'll be arrested.

"It's about doing the right thing and we are trying to do the right thing to protect the public and keep drunks who kill people off the road," Gualtieri said.

FairDui.org Founder and Author Warren Redlich says the idea is not about protecting the drunks.

"A lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea that police can just stop you for no reason," Redlich said. "If you are not comfortable with that, this is a good way of handling a checkpoint."

Quoted in the article, Tampa DUI attorney says that the method is legal, "but you draw attention to yourself. When you draw attention to yourself, then you'd better be squeaky clean going through because otherwise, you give them another reason to pay attention to you. If you are not squeaky clean, that could be the worst thing that happens to you."

[MFrohike]

19. A bit of yeesh

He handed them a flyer citing NY law at a checkpoint in FL. It might be more effective if he'd either cited a federal precedent or FL law.

[bhikkhu]

20. Odds are if you are organized enough to do that, you're not drinking

I haven't ever had a problem as they don't do DUI checkpoints in my state that I've ever heard of, but good to know.

on edit - I don't drink and drive, so it wouldn't be an issue anyway. I still cringe when I think back to the last time (20 years ago) I should have been arrested, but wasn't. I'd been drinking with friends on a "movie night", and decided to drive home around 2 am when I really shouldn't have. Coming up to a red light on a busy road I realized that I needed to turn left a bit late and veered clumsily into the turn lane, blocking the straight lane with the back end of my truck. As I sat waiting for the light to turn, crooked across two lanes of traffic, I realized a police car was right behind me, that I didn't have insurance papers, that I was driving a truck that didn't belong to me, and that it was highly unlikely I'd pass a sobriety check. Sweating bullets, the light turned green, I turned left and the police cruiser went on straight...never done anything that stupid and irresponsible again.

[Raine1967]

22. That is a really good point. Thank you for that. nt

[DemocraticWing]

26. Cops often do a bad job with DUI stops

You can be arrested even if you blow .000 on a breathalyzer if you fail field sobriety tests, but unfortunately those tests are inaccurate and are more of a physical fitness test than anything. Somebody who is out of shape and mildly tired, yet completely sober, is just as likely to get tagged with a "DUI" as a drunk person with the skill to walk a straight line.

[woolldog]

30. You can be "under the influence"

of drugs (not alcohol) and blow a .000. and be dangerous on the road e.g., opiates.

[dsc]

37. I will flat out demand a blood test if I am ever pulled over

as someone who is sober for nearly 15 years but very uncoordinated I can easily see not passing the sobriety test despite being sober.

[DustyJoe]

27. if they would just fix this

This in my neck of the woods is epidemic. The number of people still driving after double digit DWI arrests is insane.

http://www.daily-times.com/News/ci_27262169/Kirtland-man-faces-16th-drunken-driving-offense

Maybe if they'll start putting these people away and getting them off the street, the rest of the public won't have these checkpoints to endure.

[Mariana]

28. They make more money if they catch and release

and catch and release, ad infinitum. It seems they'd prefer to have habitual drunk drivers stay on the road, as long as they can pay their fines.