need to know what can happen to someone

[polishmommy023]

i was drivinf early sat moring like 2 and i dont have my license and the cops were doing a dui cheack well i truned the coner trying to getaway so0 i wonted get stop well i wasnt drinking i dont drink but a cop pulled me over adn gave me a ticket for not haveing my license well he didnt write in the amount of the fine i have to pay what could happen to me

 

[tpajet]

OK, first of all perods and captials please. it's hard to read a post when everything is just one long sentence just like this one is don't you agree

What should happen is you simply go to court and show your license (to prove you have one) and at worst you may have to pay a small fine. Also, if there is a DUI check in place, don't bother trying to turn around. They will come after you.

 

[CdwJava]

You did not mention your state. I suspect that if no fine is written on your citation, that you are notified later of the total amount. If you show up in court at the date and time mentioned on the cite I am sure they will let you know what needs to be done to take care of things.

Also, if you choose to fight the citation, the state will have to show that the stop was for good cause. They cannot use the fact you made a turn as reasonable suspicion to make the stop, but they CAN use an unlawful turn or some other act of bad driving as good cause.

- Carl

 

[tpajet]

Also, if you choose to fight the citation, the state will have to show that the stop was for good cause. They cannot use the fact you made a turn as reasonable suspicion to make the stop

I wouldn't be so sure about that. That has been fought and lost here in Florida. As long as they are stoping EVERY car on the road for a DUI checkpoint, then if he turned around, they have reason to believe he was avoiding the checkpoint for a reason.

 

[CdwJava]

Unless FL has some unusual provisions, I believe the federal standard is that an opt out must be given prior to the actual checkpoint. In other words, there must be notice provided that a checkpoint is ahead, and some legal means of avoiding it must be available (a turnoff, for instance). Whether this is a mandatory USSC ruling or just one that is practiced in most other states I do not know for sure.

But, as long as one has not yet headed into the checkpoint, you always have the option to make a lawful turn. No stop can be made without reasonable suspicion, and assuming a turn is made lawfully, it should be irrelevant as to whether a checkpoint was ahead or not.

I Strongly suspect the turn was unlawful in some way, or something else gave rise to an unlawful act justifying the stop.

- Carl

 

[tpajet]

I can't find the state statute right off (I'll have to dig) but this came up a few months ago (not here). In Florida we don't have regular vehicle inspections (whole soap opera there.) Instead, officers have the right to pull you over for vehicle inspection if they suspect something is unsafe with the vehicle. This past Feb. they were doing random checkpoints on certain roads.

In the past it was argued (and won) that this would violate your 4th amendment rights to unlawful search and seizure, since they were seizing the vehicle during the stop, however this has since been shot down by the courts, with the argument being that it's being done for safety reasons.

It was argued, in fact, that it was legal if every car was pulled over. This then got into the the whole DUI checkpoint issue, and again, it's legal. The opt out has been argued and lost as well.

 

[hiwastar]

In NY I "avoided" a border patrol checkpoint looking for people running drugs by turning off a side road as that was the faster way to my house. I didnt realize that the long line of cars was due to a checkpoint being conducted as I couldnt see the checkpoint and patrol cars further on down the road. At any rate, turned down the side road to get home faster and avoid all the stopped cars (figured it was a fender bender) and there was a cop on the side road who immediately pulled me over and asked why I dodged the checkpoint. I then got searched for 30 minutes by the cop and eventually a K9 unit. Dodging a checkpoint, even if unintentionally, is good enough for them to pull you over. I didnt get a ticket or anything as he knew the area and realized that the direction I was going was indeed the best way to get to my house but they performed the search nevertheless, and I don't fault them for it at all.

To the OP: just go to court, show them proof you are licensed and yes you may have to pay some fine - especially if you told the cop you dodged the checkpoint for that reason - as you are supposed to have it on you while driving.