Prosecutors may face an uphill battle with arrests made as a result of a “roadblock” or police checkpoint”, but only if the defense properly raises and thoroughly presents the right challenge. In order for an arrest made from a roadblock stop to stand up to a challenge in court, the prosecutor must be able to show that the police department that initiated the stop had a roadblock program with an appropriate primary purpose, other than ordinary crime control; subjecting the departmental program to scrutiny, not just the roadblock in question. In addition, the prosecutor must show that the roadblock was properly authorized, planned and staffed.
The decision to implement the roadblock must be made by supervisory personnel rather than the officers in the field; all vehicles must be stopped as opposed to random vehicle stops; the delay to motorists can only be minimal; the roadblock operations must be identified as a police checkpoint; and the “screening” officer’s training and experience must be sufficient to qualify him or her to make an initial determination as to which motorists should be given field tests for DUI.