There is nothing like the excitement of a summer evening at The Battery and enjoying a game with the Braves at Truist Park. You eat, you feel the crowd, you might drink a beer or two in the early innings and then you begin your journey home to avoid traffic. As you drive through the full parking decks and head towards the ramps to Interstate 75 or 285, the masses of brake lights ahead are suddenly pierced by the blue lights of Cobb County police cars. What you thought might be routine game day traffic buildup turns out to be a meticulously planned and executed multi-agency DUI checkpoint, set up to catch fans exiting the stadium. In the blink of an eye, you go from enjoying a good night out to facing a life-threatening legal battle, and knowing your rights at that moment is more important than ever.
Police forces throughout the metro area, especially the Georgia State Patrol and Cobb County Police, use checkpoints as a “fishing net” during sporting events. As you roll down your window, the officer is sizing you up. They are specifically looking for the smell of “alcohol”, checking for wristbands, and asking you where you have been and what you have been drinking. They are taking advantage of the nature of a traffic stop to lure you into incriminating yourself. If you confess to having a single beer or wine hours earlier, you are taken aside for more questioning. When confronted with police on the side of a busy highway, with a spotlight shining in your eyes, being told to do roadside somersaults, you need an experienced Atlanta DUI Lawyer to tip the scales to your side in lieu of the scales of justice.
Many motorists get frightened at the checkpoints, and comply with all requests, not realising that they are helping the police convict them. In Georgia, field sobriety tests – the pen test, the line test, etc. – are completely voluntary. You can politely refuse these highly-biased and rigged physical tests, or the portable BAC device, without automatically losing your license. Once arrested and given your implied consent warnings, declining the state’s chemical test at the police station comes with a steep price. It’s a minefield for the ordinary citizen to navigate this slippery slope of compliance versus non-compliance, so it’s critical to hire a ferocious Atlanta DUI Attorney to review the chronology of your interaction with police and determine whether they overreached their constitutional rights.
The constitutionality of the checkpoint is usually the prosecution’s weakest link. The Constitution imposes very specific requirements for police roadblocks. They can’t just decide to trap drivers on a whim; the roadside checkpoint must be pre-approved by a superior officer, the checkpoint must have a primary purpose other than the general detection of crime and the traffic stops must be made in accordance with a pre-planned, mathematically defensible method. A top DUI Attorney in Atlanta will request to see the plans, signatures and dispatch records. If officers did any of that or did not comply with the precise legal requirements the Supreme Court has mandated, then the traffic stop was unconstitutional and all evidence against you can be excluded.
The consequences of a DUI arrest in the shadow of Truist Park can be life-threatening, especially because the surrounding county prosecutors are extremely harsh. It’s not a time to rely on the court’s mercy or a blanket approach to defense. You require tenacious, fierce advocacy in the courtroom to defend your driver’s license, your job, and your reputation. By questioning the legality of the checkpoint and undermining the officer’s impressions, an experienced DUI Lawyer Atlanta courts respect can battle to have your charges dismissed or reduced. Don’t let a fun night out at the game turn into a criminal nightmare; act now to build a strong defense and get your life back on track.
