Saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints act as deterrents to drivers who drink or use drugs and remind the general public that impaired driving is a crime. Checkpoints and patrols increase the perceived risk of arrest if they are adequately publicized. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of sobriety checkpoints in 1990. If conducted properly, sobriety checkpoints do not constitute illegal search and seizure in most states. The U.S. Supreme Court decision held that the interest in reducing alcohol-impaired driving was sufficient to justify the brief intrusion of a properly conducted sobriety checkpoint.
Most states allow sobriety checkpoints.
Many states set their own guidelines to supplement the federal rules. For example, many states require advance notice of the checkpoint to the public. A few states require the production of police studies showing why a checkpoint location is selected. One state requires police to obtain a Superior Court order before the checkpoint may be conducted. A list of states that permit sobriety checkpoints, and the case law or legislation allowing them, appears below.