The Massachusetts State Police recently announced sobriety checkpoints for Essex County over Labor Day weekend and Worcester County for the following weekend.
State troopers typically work along with local officers in establishing these roadblocks, typically along secondary roads for several hours at a time. They have motor-home sized vehicles (known as the “Batmobiles”) which contain all facilities needed to process arrestees, including breath testing equipment.
These operating under the influence cases can often be won, since they typically involve random stops and questioning, rather than observations of bad driving, which provides fertile ground for cross-examing the arresting officers.