DUI Checkpoints for Orange County December 4-6

DUI Checkpoints for Orange County December 4-6

DUI checkpoints in Orange County have been announced. Orange County law enforcement is on high alert for drivers that might be DUI during December.

This weekend there are Orange County DUI checkpoints, including in Santa Ana and the City of Orange, and Saturation Patrols through the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in the cities of Villa Park, Yorba Linda, and Stanton.

The City of Santa Ana‘s DUI Checkpoint is from 9pm to 3am tonight/tomorrow morning (Friday, December 4th, 2015), on Fairview, between First Street and 5th street.

The City of Orange DUI Checkpoint is from 8pm to 3am tonight/tomorrow morning (Friday, December 4th, 2015), although the press release from the City of Orange did not list the location.

Saturation patrols (where trained officers drive around looking for clues that someone might be driving under the influence), and DUI checkpoints, are common throughout the month, and are funded by State and Federal DUI grants.

Before a sobriety checkpoint can be considered ‘legal’, it must not only be constitutional at the federal level, it must be at the state level as well . 11 states currently prohibit sobriety checkpoints within their boundaries.

Are DUI checkpoints in Orange County legal?

Regarding DUI Checkpoints for Orange County, under the California Ingersoll decision, and decisions of both the United States  Supreme Court and courts in California, the following standards must be met:

• the criteria for stopping motorists must be neutral, and not based upon officer discretion only;
• adequate safety precautions must be taken;
• the checkpoint’s time and duration should reflect “good judgment”;
• officers must make a written plan of operations;
• the checkpoint must exhibit sufficient indicia of its official nature;
• drivers should be detained a minimal amount of time; and
• roadblocks must be publicly notified to the public in advance.

Once at a DUI checkpoint, drivers can be detained to ask questions, and separate probable cause has to be established for a breath or blood test, which is technically a search of the body, requiring either sufficient probable cause or a warrant.