Man Gets Through DUI Checkpoint Without Rolling Down His Window

A man in Chiefland, Florida posted a video to YouTube showing how he pulled through a DUI checkpoint without ever rolling down his car window or speaking to the police. His solution? Attach a ziplock bag to the outside of his car that had his “Fair DUI” statement inside it, along with his license, insurance information and vehicle registration. Here’s the video:

The police handled the situation pretty smoothly and looked, at least to me, a little bemused by the whole thing. The driver, Jeff Gray, has a YouTube channel called “Honor Your Oath” where he encourages people to “Stay cool, Be polite, Flex Your Rights, and Always Film The Police.” Gray also says his goal is to “teach citizens that our rights do still exist, and to show how best to assert those rights.” Gray also points out that he is not an attorney.

Over a million people have watched the video. Two Sheriffs in Florida gave statements about what happened, which provoked this not-so-well-thought-out article.

So if Jeff Gray was able to cruise through a DUI checkpoint without ever rolling down his window or saying a word to the police, does that mean everyone can legally do that?

Let’s get some things straight first.

One, please don’t take video of something working once on YouTube as evidence that it will always work. That’s a twist on the old logical fallacy known in Latin as “argumentum ad traditio” – the appeal to tradition, although I guess we could update it as the “argumentum ad YouTubio” – the Appeal to YouTube.

Second, don’t take the fact that the police did nothing as evidence or confirmation that they couldn’t do anything. We’ll talk about this more below, but please understand that the police make mistakes. They’re not robots. Just because they didn’t stop Gray, or order him to roll down his window, get out of the car, etc., doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have. We’ll talk about the law on this in a moment, but as a matter of common sense don’t get these ideas confused.

Back in 1990 the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case called Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Spitz. The question in that case was whether states could use DUI checkpoints and briefly examine drivers for signs of intoxication without violating the constitution. The Court weighed the interests of the state in keeping drunk drivers off of the road against the interests of the drivers in not being detained. The Court sided with the state, and held that DUI checkpoints are not unconstitutional.

So what does that actually mean? That means that states are allowed to operate DUI checkpoints to check drivers for signs of intoxication. This would, naturally, include stopping drivers and interacting with them to see if they had glassy eyes, slurred speech, and/or smelled like alcohol.

But there are restrictions. If they’re not running a DUI checkpoint, the police have to have a reason to pull your car over. This can be for any traffic violation, moving (like speeding) to non-moving (having an expired license plate). And, until the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Heien v. North Carolina, the police had to had to be legally about their legal reason for initiating a traffic stop. Not anymore.

If you decide to try Mr. Gray’s trick for avoiding a DUI checkpoint be aware the police have every right to insist that you speak with them. Although it worked for him, it probably won’t work for you.

Sam proudly represents those accused of crimes and injured through no fault of their own throughout the greater Tampa Bay area.

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How to Get Through a Sobriety Checkpoint?

So you’re driving along the highway one evening, minding your own business, and suddenly looming up in front of you is a DUI sobriety checkpoint…

No problem!  You just pull a small printed sign out of your glove compartment and hold it up to the unopened car window for the cop to read.  He reads it through the glass with his flashlight, a quizzical look on his face…and then reluctantly waves you through the checkpoint.

Fantasy?  Watch this YouTube video of a DUI sobriety checkpoint in Florida, in which the driver held such a note up to the window for the cop to read.  The note stated (with Florida state statutes cited):  

I REMAIN SILENT

NO SEARCHES

I WANT MY LAWYER

Please put any tickets under windshield washer.

I am not required to sign – 318.4(2).

I am not required to hand you my license – 322.15.

Thus I am not opening my window.

I will comply with clearly stated lawful orders.

It worked, and the driver got through the checkpoint without opening his window — and possibly having the cop claim that his speech was slurred or that he had alcohol on his breath.  But a word of warning: it may not work for you in your state.  Your laws may be different….and cops generally don’t take well to having their authority challenged.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 7th, 2015 at 9:21 am and is filed under Duiblog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Florida Man Goes Through DUI Checkpoint Without Saying A Word

In order to avoid an incorrect assertion of a person’s speech being slurred or the smell of alcohol or drugs wafting from the car at a DUI checkpoint, a man in Florida tested out a novel approach. Jeff Gray put his license, registration, and insurance information in a plastic bag out his window with a message from Fair DUI:

“I remain silent

No searches

I want my lawyer”

Apart from a few strange glances, Jeff made it through the checkpoint without incident.

Read more.

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Man Allegedly Passes Out at Drive Through and Then Tries to Order Food From Police

Normally a DUI stop involves the police pulling over a driver who is swerving, weaving, or driving in some way that suggests the driver might be under the influence. In some cases, civilians will call the police when they are concerned that someone is driving drunk.

According to a recent news article from the News Tribune, workers at a fast food restaurant called the police after a man who appeared to be drunk came up to the drive through window and passed out. The man must have woken up at some point, because police arrived to find his car straddling two parking spaces designated for disabled persons.

When the officers approached the man’s car, the backup lights turned on, and the car started moving. The officer moved out of the way to avoid a collision and approached the car on foot. Officers alleged that they saw the man throw his car keys into the back seat. When they attempted to speak to him, he allegedly tried to order food from the police.

The driver, who is 23 years old, said that he did not trust police and asked to speak with an attorney. He supposedly spoke with a public defender and then agreed to take a breath test, where it was determined that his blood-alcohol content (BAC) was approximately .18 which is more than twice the legal limit of .08 grams per 100 milliliters of blood.

A public defender on the phone told the police that the suspect wanted a blood test from an independent lab. The officers asked if he still wanted this, and he supposedly told the officer that he did not and would rather have a glass of water. He was then charged with driving under the influence (DUI) alcohol.

As our Birmingham DUI attorneys can explain, the observation that the officers claim to have made, where they saw the man throw his keys into the back seat, is often important in cases where the police find a sleeping driver. Drunk driving essentially has two elements. The police prove that the suspect was intoxicated and that the suspect was driving.

When the officers don’t witness the suspect driving, the officers will try to use other evidence to establish that the alleged drunk driver recently drove the car. Throwing the keys into the backseat can demonstrate what they call the exercise of dominion and control over the vehicle.

This can be a significant issue where the police arrested a person who knew he or she was too drunk to drive and decided to the right thing and sleep in the car rather than driving. The problem is that if an officer finds a person sleeping in the car, the officer will claim they are doing a wellness check and ask the person why they are sleeping in the car. The officer will then allege that the person was operating the car and place him or her under arrest for driving under the influence, even if the suspect had no intention of driving anywhere.

Additional Resources:

Police Beat: A drive-thru DUI, a meat cleaver, and an interrupted weed party, October 11, 2014,News Tribune

More Blog Entries:

Interlock Ignition Law Goes Into Effect: But Do They Work? August 3, 2014, Birmingham Underage DUI Defense Lawyer Blog

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