Fourth of July DUI Enforcement in South Carolina: Your Rights at a Checkpoint and After an Arrest

South Carolina DUI checkpoints are lawful only when they are overseen by a qualified uniformed law enforcement officer, when uniformed officers stop vehicles based on a predictable pattern, and when the police provide sufficient advance warning (among other requirements). South Carolina law (§ 56-5-2953) also requires all DUI arrests to be video-recorded. If you got a DUI at a checkpoint in South Carolina, Deaton Law Firm (North Charleston) may be able to use a violation of these requirements to fight your charge.

Police in South Carolina frequently use DUI checkpoints to make arrests—especially around July 4 and other holidays. While the police are allowed to use DUI checkpoints, all DUI checkpoints (and DUI arrests) are subject to strict legal requirements.

If the police violated any of these requirements in your case, this could provide you with a defense in court. But, you must be able to prove the specific violation (or violations) at issue, and this makes it critical to have an experienced DUI lawyer on your side.

Are SC DUI Checkpoints Legal? The Constitutional Ground Rules

As a general rule, DUI checkpoints are legal in South Carolina. There is no state law that bans them, and this means that they are generally allowed. When conducting DUI checkpoints, however, the police must respect drivers’ constitutional rights, and they must comply with various statutory requirements as well.

In particular, when conducting DUI checkpoints, the police must respect drivers’ rights under the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures (including traffic stops), and it requires the police to have “probable cause” to make an arrest.

If the way in which a DUI checkpoint is conducted violates the Fourth Amendment, this can render all of the evidence obtained as the result of a driver’s traffic stop inadmissible in court. If the state’s evidence is inadmissible in court, prosecutors won’t be able to meet their burden of proving the driver’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

What Officers Must Do at a Valid South Carolina Checkpoint

To conduct a valid DUI checkpoint in South Carolina, the police must meet several requirements. If the police violate any of these requirements, this can potentially serve as grounds for inadmissibility. With this in mind, some of the key requirements for DUI checkpoints in South Carolina include:

• The police must have a valid reason for selecting the checkpoint’s time and place
• The checkpoint’s location must be safe and identifiable
• The police must provide advance warning of the checkpoint’s location
• The checkpoint must be overseen by a qualified uniformed law enforcement officer
• The officers conducting the checkpoint must be uniformed
• The police must select vehicles to stop based on a predictable pattern
• Stops must be brief and designed to minimize the inconvenience to drivers

Again, these are just examples. Once you hire an experienced DUI lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will be able to thoroughly examine all aspects of the checkpoint and your arrest to determine what defenses you have available. If the police violated your rights, your lawyer may be able to file a motion to suppress and fight to keep prosecutors from using any inadmissible evidence against you.

Your Rights When Stopped: What to Say and What Not to Say

When the police stop you at a DUI checkpoint, it is important to be very careful about what you say and what you do. Mistakes during a DUI checkpoint can not only lead to an arrest that might have otherwise been avoided, but they can potentially make it more difficult to fight your DUI in court as well. For example, if you get stopped at a DUI checkpoint in South Carolina:

• You Should Be Polite and Cooperative – If the police choose your vehicle to stop at a DUI checkpoint, you should be polite and cooperative. You are required to provide your driver’s license and vehicle registration, and you should step out of your vehicle if the police ask you to do so. However, cooperating does not mean waiving your legal rights.
• You Should Exercise Your Right to Remain Silent – While you are required to provide your driver’s license and vehicle registration, you have the right to remain silent. If the officer who stopped you asks you any questions that could be incriminating, you should politely state that you are choosing to exercise your right to remain silent—the police cannot legally use this against you.
• You Should Not Consent to a Search of Your Vehicle – Just as you are not required to answer any incriminating questions, you are not required to consent to a search of your vehicle. However, if you consent—even if you didn’t realize you had the right to refuse—the police will be able to use any evidence they find against you.

If the police suspect that you have been drinking and driving, they may ask you to take the breathalyzer and the field sobriety tests (FSTs). While taking the breathalyzer is mandatory under South Carolina’s implied consent law (provided that the police comply with all applicable requirements), taking the FSTs is not.

Challenging a Holiday DUI Arrest: The § 56-5-2953 Video Requirement

Along with meeting the specific requirements for conducting a DUI checkpoint, the police must also meet all of the other requirements that apply to DUI arrests in South Carolina. This includes the requirement to record an arrest in accordance with Section 56-5-2953 of the South Carolina Code of Laws. If the police failed to record your DUI arrest (or any portion of your DUI arrest), this could serve as a defense in court as well.

Discuss Your Case with North Charleston DUI Lawyer Rad S. Deaton

If you got a DUI at a checkpoint over the Fourth of July weekend (or any other holiday weekend), we encourage you to contact us promptly for more information. To discuss your case with experienced North Charleston DUI lawyer Rad S. Deaton in confidence as soon as possible, call us at 843-225-5723 or tell us how we can reach you online now.