Massachusetts DUI Blog

The Massachusetts State Police have announced that a “sobriety checkpoint” will be implemented on a secondary state highway on Friday, March 26, 2010 into Saturday, March 27, 2010 in Worcester County.
The State Police often team up with local law enforcement when operating these checkpoints, which may utilize over a dozen officers at a time as well as mobile breath testing equipment. Many of these roadblocks are part of the nationwide “Over The Limit, Under Arrest” mobilization, for which state and federal grant money is used to fund police overtime, equipment and education.
In 2009, the constitutionality of these checkpoints was again called into question, but the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rejected the challenge. However, the police must strictly comply with the many requirements that the Court has outlined, and the failure to do so may result in the exclusion of all evidence obtained against a defendant.
If you are arrested following a roadblock or “sobriety checkpoint,” contact an attorney who knows how to defend these cases successfully. Call Brooks & Crowley LLP at 781-251-0555.

The Massachusetts State Police has announced that a “Sobriety Checkpoint” will be implemented by the Massachusetts State Police on a Secondary State Highway in Bristol County. Bristol County is made up of twenty cities and towns, including Taunton, Raynham, Rehoboth, Fall River and New Bedford. The checkpoint will begin Saturday, March 20, 2010 and continue into Sunday, March 21, 2010.
The State Police often team up with local law enforcement when operating these checkpoints, which may utilize over a dozen officers at a time as well as mobile breath testing equipment. Many of these roadblocks are part of the nationwide “Over The Limit, Under Arrest” mobilization. State and federal grant money is used to fund police overtime, equipment and education.
The constitutionality of these checkpoints were recently upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. However, the police must strictly comply with the many requirements that the Court has outlined, and the failure to do so may result in the exclusion of all evidence obtained against a defendant.
If you are arrested following a roadblock or “sobriety checkpoint,” contact an attorney who knows how to defend these cases successfully. Call Brooks & Crowley LLP at 781-251-0555.

Colonel Marian J. McGovern, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, has recently announced that a “Sobriety Checkpoint” will be implemented by the Massachusetts State Police on a Secondary State Highway in Hampden County. The checkpoint will begin Friday, March 12, 2010 and continue into Saturday, March 13, 2010.
The State Police often team up with local law enforcement when operating these checkpoints, which may utilize over a dozen officers at a time as well as mobile breath testing equipment. Many of these roadblocks are part of the nationwide “Over The Limit, Under Arrest” mobilization. State and federal grant money is used to fund police overtime, equipment and education.
The constitutionality of these checkpoints were recently upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. However, the police must strictly comply with the many requirements that the Court has outlined, and the failure to do so may result in the exclusion of all evidence obtained against a defendant.
If you are arrested following a roadblock or “sobriety checkpoint,” contact an attorney who knows how to defend these cases successfully. Call Brooks & Crowley LLP at 781-251-0555.

The Massachusetts State Police recently announced that a “Sobriety Checkpoint” will be implemented by the State Police in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. This checkpoint is scheduled for Friday, February 26, 2010 into Saturday, February 27, 2010, and will take place during varied hours. Suffolk County is comprised of all of Boston, and the cities of Chelsea and Revere, Massachusetts.
The State Police often team up with local law enforcement when operating these checkpoints, which may utilize over a dozen officers at a time as well as mobile breath testing equipment. Many of these roadblocks are part of the nationwide “Over The Limit, Under Arrest” mobilization, for which state and federal grant money is used to fund police overtime, equipment and education.
The constitutionality of these checkpoints were recently upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. However, the police must strictly comply with the many requirements that the Court has outlined, and the failure to do so may result in the exclusion of all evidence obtained against a defendant.
If you are arrested following a roadblock or “sobriety checkpoint,” contact an attorney who knows how to defend these cases successfully. Call Brooks & Crowley LLP at 781-251-0555.

Colonel Mark F. Delaney, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, has announced that a “Sobriety Checkpoint” will be implemented by the Massachusetts State Police in Suffolk County. This checkpoint is scheduled for Thursday night, September 10, 2009 into Friday, September 11, 2009 and will take place on a Secondary State Highway. Suffolk County is comprised of all of Boston, and the cities of Chelsea and Revere, Massachusetts.
Many of these roadblocks are part of the nationwide “Over The Limit, Under Arrest” mobilization, for which state and federal grant money is used to fund police overtime, equipment and education. This roadblock coincides with the return of thousands of college students to the Boston area around Labor Day weekend.

On July 23, 2009, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the constitutionality of police roadblocks.  In two separate cases, Commonwealth v. Murphy (SJC-10287) and Commonwealth v.  Swartz (SJC-10426), the Court decided that the Massachusetts State Police roadblock guideline (as set forth in TRF-15) was not unconstitutional on its face by virtue of its permitting some discretion to the officers who perform the initial screening.  In Swartz, the Court went on to decide that the roadblock in question was not a general search for evidence just because police were authorized to detain individuals if they observed evidence of a crime while briefly detaining members of the public during the sobriety checkpoint. 

While upholding the constitutionality of the roadblocks, these cases still leave open the possibility of suppressing evidence derived from them.  Where the police deviate from the either their own guidelines or those requirements previously set forth by the Court, motions to suppress evidence must be filed and courts must decide whether the police were in strict compliance with those rules. If not, the courts are free to exclude the evividence, which may be field sobriety tests, incriminatory statements such as admissions of drinking, alcohol containers, or breath or blood test evidence.