Rhode Island DUI Checkpoint Lawyer

If you think you were stopped at a Rhode Island DUI checkpoint, the first thing to know is that sobriety checkpoints are not allowed in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Supreme Court struck down DUI roadblocks under the state constitution in Pimental v. Department of Transportation in 1989. That means every DUI stop in Rhode Island needs a real reason behind it, and a stop without one can be thrown out.

Quick answer: Rhode Island does not allow sobriety checkpoints. In Pimental v. Department of Transportation (1989), the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that DUI roadblocks violate the state constitution, even though the U.S. Supreme Court later allowed them under federal law in Michigan v. Sitz (1990). Instead of checkpoints, Rhode Island police use saturation patrols and targeted holiday enforcement, and every stop must be based on reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impairment. If an officer pulled you over without one, the evidence from the stop can be suppressed. Massachusetts does run checkpoints, so a checkpoint arrest just over the state line is a Massachusetts case. Call 401-573-2265 for a free consultation.

Why Rhode Island does not have DUI checkpoints

A sobriety checkpoint stops drivers with no suspicion at all. The federal courts accept that under the Fourth Amendment, but Rhode Island's own constitution gives drivers more protection. In Pimental, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that stopping drivers at a roadblock without any individual suspicion is an unreasonable seizure under the state constitution. Rhode Island is one of roughly a dozen states where DUI checkpoints are not used.

So when a driver tells us they were "caught at a checkpoint" in Rhode Island, it usually means one of three things:

• A saturation patrol. Extra officers working a stretch of road, pulling drivers over one at a time for traffic violations.
• A crash or incident scene. Police directing traffic or investigating something else, who then say they noticed signs of impairment.
• A Massachusetts checkpoint. Massachusetts allows checkpoints, and drivers crossing the line from Pawtucket, Cumberland, Tiverton, or Burrillville sometimes run into one. Those cases are heard in Massachusetts courts under Massachusetts law.

Every Rhode Island DUI stop needs a reason

Without checkpoints, the stop is where many Rhode Island DUI cases are won or lost. The officer needs reasonable suspicion to pull you over: speeding, a lane violation, an equipment problem, or driving that suggests impairment. A vague claim of "weaving" with no video to back it up, a stop based only on the time of night, or a stop for leaving a bar parking lot is open to challenge.

If the stop was not justified, a motion to suppress can throw out everything that followed: the officer's observations, the field sobriety tests, and the breath test result. Without that evidence, the state usually cannot prove the case.

Defenses when you were stopped at what looked like a checkpoint

No individual suspicion. If police stopped you along with a line of other cars and there was no traffic violation, that is the kind of suspicionless stop Pimental forbids, and the evidence should be suppressed.

Pretext stops. A stop that rests on a minor equipment issue the officer only noticed after deciding to pull you over can be challenged on the facts and the dashcam.

Excessive detention. Even a lawful stop has to stay brief. If you were held while officers looked for a reason to investigate DUI, the extended detention can be challenged.

Improper field sobriety testing. Field tests run without reasonable suspicion of impairment, or run outside the NHTSA protocol, can be excluded.

What you have to do when police pull you over

When an officer stops you in Rhode Island, you are required to:

• Stop when directed
• Provide license, registration, and insurance
• Answer basic identification questions

You are not required to:

• Answer questions about where you have been or whether you have been drinking
• Submit to field sobriety tests at the roadside (in Rhode Island these are voluntary)
• Submit to a preliminary breath test at the roadside (also voluntary in most situations)

The required chemical test happens after an arrest, not at the roadside. Refusing the post-arrest breath test triggers a separate refusal case at the Traffic Tribunal under Rhode Island General Laws section 31-27-2.1.

When Rhode Island enforcement gets heavy

Rhode Island police use saturation patrols instead of checkpoints, and they run more of them around:

• Memorial Day weekend
• July 4 weekend
• Labor Day weekend
• Thanksgiving Eve (one of the heaviest DUI nights of the year)
• Christmas and New Year's Eve
• St. Patrick's Day
• Super Bowl Sunday
• Major Patriots and Red Sox playoff dates

The "drive sober or get pulled over" campaign funds extra patrols during these windows. More officers on the road means more stops, and more stops made in a hurry. Those are the cases where the reason for the stop deserves a close look.

What to do after a stop

Write down everything you remember about the stop as soon as you can:

• The exact location of the stop
• Approximate time of the stop
• How many officers and police cars were present
• Whether other drivers were being stopped at the same spot
• How the officer described why you were stopped
• What questions were asked
• What tests were administered

Every detail helps the defense. We will then request the police report, dashcam, and bodycam footage to compare against your memory of the stop.

Where Rhode Island DUI cases are heard

DUI cases are heard in the District Court division where the arrest happened:

• Providence County arrests - 6th Division at the Garrahy Judicial Complex
• Newport County arrests - 2nd Division at the Murray Judicial Complex
• Kent County arrests - 3rd Division at the Noel Judicial Complex
• Washington County arrests - 4th Division at the McGrath Judicial Complex

Refusal cases get heard separately at the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal.

Free consultation

If you were stopped at what you thought was a DUI checkpoint in Rhode Island, the reason for the stop is the first thing we look at. Call 401-573-2265 for a free consultation.