How did a Norcross man get to Indiana without a driver’s’ license? More importantly, why did he get pulled over during a DUI sweep when he apparently hadn’t been drinking?
Officer Fisher with the Plymouth Police Department stopped the vehicle at 225 E. Jefferson Street and identified the driver as a 29-year-old man. He was found to never have obtained a drivers’ license. He was taken into custody and transported to the Marshall County Jail where he was booked in for an operator who was never licensed.
During the arrest, Plymouth Police officers were assisted by deputies from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department.
STEP Campaign Basics
Whether they’re north or south of the Mason-Dixon line, Strategic Traffic Enforcement Program campaigns usually come in three flavors: low intensity, high intensity, and checkpoint mode. Before we break down these three modes, we should examine STEP campaigns in general, their place in the law enforcement toolbox, and the problems that intense enforcement campaigns create in court.
State and/or federal grant money usually funds STEP campaigns. Especially in the post-coronavirus pandemic era, these efforts usually target DUI. After decades of decline, the number of alcohol-related crashes increased sharply in 2020, and again in 2021.
To counter this uptick, many law enforcement agencies have doubled down on STEP campaigns. Back in the day, most people supported such efforts. However, over the past several years, public confidence in law enforcement has dropped significantly. Therefore, to many jurors, a STEP campaign is basically a directive to round up the usual suspects.
Additional officer instruction and training is the best example of a low-level STEP campaign. Frequently, during pre-shift briefings, supervisors instruct officers to emphasize DUI or another infraction. Alternatively, officers must attend seminars on subjects like spotting drunk drivers and investigating these matters.
Low-intensity STEP campaigns are the cheapest, least productive, and least used kind of STEP campaign in Georgia.
High-intensity STEP campaigns require a lot more money. Most of this money pays officer overtime in an “all hands on deck” enforcement effort. Supervisors redirect officers to certain areas and instruct them, in no uncertain terms, to make DUI arrests.
To pad their arrest total, impress their supervisors, and justify the government investment, many officers take shortcuts during high-intensity STEP campaigns. More on that below.
After some back and forth, federal courts officially legalized DUI roadblocks in the early 1990s. A checkpoint is the most expensive, most effective, and most controversial STEP campaign mode.
Legal Issues
Patrol officers must have reasonable suspicion to detain motorists, whether or not these officers are involved in STEP campaigns. Roving reasonable suspicion includes:
- Traffic Violation: Patrol officers nearly always detain motorists for moving (speeding, turning illegally) or nonmoving (expired sticker, irregular license plate) violations. The traffic violation need not hold up in court. Reasonable suspicion is an evidence-based hunch of illegal activity.
- Informer’s Tip: Reasonable suspicion could be based on a reliable informer’s tip. Independent tips often don’t hold up in court. Most people have mixed motives, at best, when they call the police. However, a weak tip is usually enough to justify a stop and launch an investigation.
- Police Bulletin: A law enforcement bulletin is basically an officially verified informer’s tip. Possible stolen vehicles and a vehicle used in the commission of a crime, like a getaway car, are the most common examples.
Several recent Supreme Court decisions have diluted the reasonable suspicion rule. Now, reasonable suspicion is basically reasonable belief. That belief might or might not be accurate.
The law hasn’t changed much regarding DUI roadblocks. The Supreme Court laid out very specific requirements, including:
- High-Level Creation: The state legislature must approve checkpoints. That’s happened in Georgia and most other states. A police chief or other high-level supervisor must authorize a specific checkpoint. This person may then delegate the details to a non-field officer subordinate.
- Safe Outlay: Officers may only set up DUI roadblocks in safe locations on surface streets. Officers must deploy traffic cones and safety signs far in front of the checkpoint. Other signs must identify the checkpoint and give instructions.
- Neutral Formula: This one is probably the big one. Officers cannot randomly pull over vehicles. Instead, they must use a formula, like detaining every fourth vehicle. If traffic backs up, they may temporarily modify the formula until traffic flows faster.
Officers must set up DUI roadblocks in high-DUI areas. Almost all DUI offenders are white. A DUI roadblock in a mostly nonwhite area is usually a pretext checkpoint.
On a similar note, a DUI roadblock should mostly nab drunk drivers. If most of the arrests were for non-alcohol-related crimes, like driving without a license or drug possession, that’s a red flag.
Constitutional Rights
The Fourth Amendment (unlawful searches) and Fifth Amendment (right to remain silent) protect motorists at roving STEP campaign stops.
As mentioned, officers must have reasonable suspicion to pull over motorists. They cannot search a vehicle for contraband, unless they have a valid warrant, or a probable cause exception applies. These exceptions include owner consent and an item in plain view.
The Fifth Amendment applies to roving stops and roadblock stops. In these situations, individuals must follow basic “pull over” or “license and insurance, please” commands. However, they must only answer questions or roll down their windows if they choose to do so.
If officers don’t respect individual rights, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer can convince a judge to invalidate the arrest. Subsequent events, like an arrest or a contraband seizure, are inadmissible, as they are fruit from a poisonous tree.
Sweeping arrests often don’t hold up in court. For a free consultation with an experienced Marietta criminal defense attorney, contact The Phillips Law Firm, LLC. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
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