Avoiding a DUI Checkpoint

Motion to Suppress for Violation of 4th Amendment | No Probable Cause for Stop
Jurisdiction: District Court, Wake County, North Carolina
Location of Checkpoint: Raleigh, NC
Issues: Did the act of pulling into a driveway with a checkpoint in view constitute reasonable suspicion that the driver was attempting to avoid a checkpoint?
Major Case(s):
State: 1) See State v. Haislip, 651 SE 2d 243, 246-47 (NC Ct. App. 2007)
2) Whren v. United States, 517, U.S. 806, 809-10(1996).
Result: Motion to Suppress Denied. The issues raised at the evidentiary hearing were a matter of first impression in North Carolina.  The Court took the matter under advisement and researched the matter further.  The court located two cases that were on point.  If memory serves correct, one was from Hawaii and one was from a state in the South.  The Hawaii court ruled for the State and the other court ruled for the defense.  The Judge found the reasoning from the Hawaii case to be more persuasive and denied the motion.  Client did not appeal. Two appellate courts have ruled in two different ways. This motion is worth another shot.

Motion to Suppress:

Download ( Motion-to-Suppress-Avoiding-Checkpoint.pdf, PDF, 47KB)