The Massachusetts State Police have announced that it will implement a sobriety checkpoint for Saturday, May 8, 2010. The roadblock will take place at various hours, and will continue into Sunday, May 9, 2010. The checkpoint will be set up on a secondary state highway in Essex County. Essex County is made up of cities and towns north of Boston, from Amesbury and Danvers to Gloucester and Marblehead.
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 sobriety 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 in order for them to survive constitutional challenges, 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.
