Identification CheckPoints for Drivers in E. Tennessee - Is a Police State Becoming 2012 Reality?

reply to post by Open2Truth


Thanks for posting that. I believe the stops are deemed legal in the area I live and throughout the USA as well, but I personally feel it should be illegal to issue checkpoints soley for the purpose of identifyin which people are legal and those who aren't.

I think I feel these checkpoints should be governed in a way that would forbid arrests or accusations for any crime not related to the stated purpose of the checkpoints.

Maybe we can come together, as a population, and demand changes in the law. Not only the law surrounding the checkpoints, but any law that could be considered entrapment.

They've been doing stops like that here in N.J. for many years now. they are mostly to check for inspection stickers, but they will detain anyone they feel like detaining.

Years ago here in Nebraska they used to do what they called "road safety checkpoints" The state patrol would close down a state highway, stop all the vehicles and check things like tires, lights, wipers ect. These eventually turned into DUI checkpoints.

These things were a huge hassle, backed traffic up, and if anything was found to be wrong they towed your car, and issued citations. Could you imagine having to pay a tow bill and a ticket because a brake light was burned out, or your wipers didn't work? I don't remember the legal premise (was about 17 years ago) but eventually enough people complained that they stopped doing it. I do remember a number of people getting out of criminal charges because the stops were deemed illegal. The wording of the law that allowed these stops specifically stated that the stops were to remove unsafe vehicles from the road, not conduct an investigation ie: ask for drivers licence, insurance, registration, or conduct searches.

I can see this DL checkpoint as a way to drum up cash, a lot of municipalities are going broke. I know my city must be hard up for cash, the police have been hounding people for minor fines that didn't get paid. The other day my brother went to jail for a $50 fine he forgot about. He actually got arrested standing at his mailbox opening the letter that said a bench warrant had been issued for that fine Yeas ago I know the police would never waste their time on this type of thing, I personally had an outstanding bench warrant for a $100 fine for over 2 years and didn't even know it until I went to renew my drivers license, even then I wasn't arrested, just told I would have to clear up the fine before I could renew my DL.

It seems to me to be a huge waste of resources when the police should have better things to do. I see it in the paper everyday, robberies, assaults, and other real crimes going unsolved because of lack of manpower. It just goes to show how backwards our system has become, they can send 2 cruisers to pick my brother up for a small fine, but don't have time to investigate real crimes. My house was burglarized about 7 years ago, they wiped me out, took thousands worth of electronics and tools. I called the police right away, expecting at least some type of CSI to show up. Nope, one cop came out, took my statement, wrote down descriptions and serial numbers and told me basically if the stuff shows up in a pawn shop or something I might get some of my stuff back. So if the idiot thief does your job for you and pawns my stuff then you might solve the crime?? Protect and serve is a joke, it should be "To harass and control"

reply to post by JeffreyCH


Iunderstand where you are coming from. What you post describes many of my feelings on the topic, including the terrible misappropriations of funds used to organize and conduct these checkpoints.

There are terrib.e things that take place all around the world, including the areas where we live here. The resources could be diverted in such a way that would allow for further training of officers and put their presence to much better use for the safety of the law abiding citizens (problem is also that most anyone can be labeled as a criminal, one way or another).

Training these poilice officers to identify more common suspicious behavior and the protocol to follow when they encounter such situations could make a difference in the piece of mind the residents have in the security of their neighborhoods.

Having a police presence in the nieghborhoods would deter many would be burglars and may also reduce the amount of domestic violence we see in many areas, ranging from government housing projects all the way to the most prestigous an sought after communities.

Seeing a police patrol outside your home a few times a day may also make some feel as if they are being 'watched' much more than neccassary, but I may be thinking it would be better to see this type of patrol, as opposed to the possibility of being stopped at random and having your private and personal space invaded against your will - possibly being charged with heavy fines, arrested, future jailtime or other punishment for something that you may have been completely unaware of and posed no direct threat to your safety, or the safety of anyone else.

We, as a civilization, may be forcing a more strict police state by the actions and behaviour we allow to exist in our society without the stigma of taboo attached to the actions. Many criminals feel that their actions are wrong, but aren't really THAT wrong or unacceptable, as they might if cannabalism or mass murder were the topic.

I do not mean to really group cannabalism or mass murder within the realm of theft or domestic violence, drunk driving, or operating a motor vehicle without proper licensing, just that the former carries a highly taboo aura with them and if such an unacceptable taboo existed on the latter, we may see much much les criminal activity in the areas.

I hope we are able to make a change somewhere that leads to less need for a constant police presence on the roadways and in the nieghborhoods. Though, at this point, reducing a government fueled police presence may be a bigger challenge than that of actually lowering the criminal intent and criminal actions in the areas we call home.

Demanding a reduced police presence would surely mean the loss of income, loss of taxes and budget cutting, something that budget committees are primed to fight against at all costs, even if that means pushing our communitees further into the form of an absolute police state.

ID checkpoints are illegal per Delaware vs Prouse.

Here is a quote from Michigan vs Sitz (the case that allowed DUI checkpoints) discussing this:

"Finally, the Court explained its conclusion that the sobriety
checkpoints are effective by discussing the Brown test, in light of
the Martinez-Fuerte15 and Prouse216 decisions. 217 First, regarding
Prouse, the Supreme Court disapproved the random stops to
apprehend unlicensed drivers and unsafe vehicles......."

reply to post by esteay812




ID checkpoints are illegal per Delaware vs Prouse.

Here is a quote from Michigan vs Sitz (the case that allowed DUI checkpoints) discussing this:

"Finally, the Court explained its conclusion that the sobriety
checkpoints are effective by discussing the Brown test, in light of
the Martinez-Fuerte15 and Prouse216 decisions. 217 First, regarding
Prouse, the Supreme Court disapproved the random stops to
apprehend unlicensed drivers and unsafe vehicles......."

They probably realized during the running of sobriety checkpoints that many do not possess valid licenses and/or insurance. Because of the frequency of people checked in sobriety checkpoints not having the correct "papers", they expanded on it to make it a general checkpoint to impose fines on supposed offenders.

Cops are nothing but revenue collectors anyway, and municipalities not having any real common sense regarding the amount of stolen wealth they waste are running short of booty to spend.

This is why I absolutely hate to drive, it just isn't worth it, and besides, it makes you fat.