I published a blog article yesterday stating that there will be one DUI checkpoint in Wilmington on Superbowl Sunday. According to an article on DelawareOnline this morning, there are now two DUI checkpoints scheduled for Superbowl Sunday. One will be in Wilmington, Delaware and there will be an additional drunk driving checkpoint in Bear, Delaware.
I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. I am not a proponent of driving while intoxicated. Don't drink and drive! If you do go to a bar or party, arrange for transportation BEFORE you crack open a beer.
I am, however, a proponent of police following the Constitution, and I am a proponent of limiting government involvement in peoples’ lives unless there’s a good reason for it. DUI checkpoints should be declared unconstitutional and outlawed because they stop and harass innocent drivers and passengers in a dragnet approach to detecting crime.
The 4th Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits stops of citizens absent reasonable suspicion of some wrongdoing. For example, the police are not allowed to stop you as you are walking down the street and stick their hands in your pockets to see if you have any drugs. The police are not allowed to come over to your house, turn on your computer and search it to make sure you don’t have any child porn. Why then are the police allowed to stop you in your vehicle, examine you and ask you questions in an attempt to determine if you could be driving under the influence?