ChasingGreen
Member
No, and allow me to explain why. You have 4th amendment rights. This prevents illegal search and seizure. When you are stopped at a regular traffic stop and it reaches the point of blowing for a DUI or taking their ridiculous field test you couldn't pass sober, they have already detained you with probable cause (smelling alcohol, swerving out of your lane, lights off at night, etc). You sign a waiver agreeing to take those tests when detained and operating a motor vehicle. So there in lies the magical term, probable cause.
When you stop at a checkpoint, these are without probable cause. They are simply points for them to gain probable cause. How do you give them probable cause? Talk to them. Not talking or refusing to answer questions is not legal justification for probable cause.
What you want to do at a DUI checkpoint is not answer any questions and ask if you're free to go. They won't say yes right away. Whenever they give you an order, ask if you're being detained and/or if that's an order. If it is an order, regardless of what it is, I advise you follow it or they will try to say you were resisting or failure to comply with an officer's orders.
Any time a cop ASKS you something (permission to inspect vehicle, "do me a favor and pull over there", etc) he doesn't have the right to do it, he's seeking your permission. He's seeking that you give up your constitutional rights and make his job easier to nail you for something, that's it. If a cop has the right to do something, they don't ask you, they order you, or they do it for you, like place you in handcuffs / their car. They don't ask you to get in their car, they put your ass in there because they already have the right to.
God bless America. Where only the educated are truly free. STAY SAFE EVERYONE!
There's some really amazing videos on youtube, just check "DUI refusal" or "Checkpoint refusal" and you'll see what I mean. It takes balls, but it's your constitutional protected rights that you should never give up. It's why we're a "free" country. I have personally done it before, never had an issue. Just be courteous and don't answer any questions at all. Don't answer where you were, where you're going, are you a citizen, etc. In Florida, you DO have to present ID when asked by an office, that's a law, but that's it. That is literally the only thing you HAVE to do to cooperate with a police office voluntarily.
