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OK, here's my story from this past Saturday night.

I was traveling north on 75 in the north part of Plano. I watched a pickup truck with his signal on for quite a distance cut someone off and almost take the nose off their car. The vehicle then came back into the outside lane slowly as it slowed down to about 40 mph and wobbled back and forth across the lane dividing line. I called 911 to report a possible DWI and got Plano. We were crossing into Allen so i had the 911 operator transfer me to the Allen dispatch. As I was giving Allen the information the pickup had sped back up and nearly hit two more vehicles. By this time another car had realized the pickup was a potential issue and had pulled up beside me and made a small rolling road block in the outside 2 lanes of four. Unfortunately Allen had no one in position, so they handed me off to McKinney.

When we went by the Stacy road exit, the truck swung into the inside lane (now down to 3) from the outside, nearly hitting another car, and the other vehicle had to make an exit at Stacy. I passed the info on to McKinney and the truck was just making a maneuver onto Highway 5 over the new overpass. There had been a McKinney police SUV in the construction area watching, but by the time the 911 operator passed our exact location on to the dispatcher, the information was the truck had continued on north on 75, instead of turned onto Highway 5, so the police officer had pulled out an gone past the intersection and couldn't get back onto 5.

I continued to follow the vehicle up 5 until they got a unit supposedly in position. I turned on my flashers so they could identify me, but apparently the officer coming from the other direction missed me because they were blocked by other vehicles. The truck, still driving erratically in speed (slow, then normal) and drifting across lanes and making lane changes in front of other vehicles, turned on a side street. The officer got turned around and was able to intercept us. I stopped and let the officer get behind the truck just as it had turned onto another neighborhood street. By this time two other cruisers were also on the location and joined for backup.

I turned around and stopped behind the police cars. They already had two individuals out of the truck and handcuffed. I rolled my passenger window down and one of the officers came over and thanked me for calling it in and following. He asked if he could get my license to write down my information as a witness. I told him sure, and that I was a CHL holder and did he need to see that also since I was carrying. He advised he just needed the license to get the name and address correct for his info in case they needed a statement from me, but thanks for letting him know. I gave him a quick run-down on the driving behavior and he said they would soon determine if the driver was under the influence, but never elaborated, on what they thought at that time. Once he gave me my license back, I asked if there was anything else they needed and he stated if they did they would contact me, so I left and let them sort it out.

Now, to stay on topic, luckily there were no accidents or injuries from this individual. However, because of the state that I am sure he was in, there were nearly 6 accidents that I personally witnessed as the police tried to get a fix on us. Those were all at 40+ MPH, so they would not have been minor fender benders.

So, if a sobriety check-points are done right, I have no issue with them. That is, you roll your window down and say hi to an officer, and if there is no probable cause to check further (smell of alcohol, marijuana, etc.), and they let you move on, then I am fine with them. I just feel they need to make sure there is a reason to further ask for ID and personal information if there is no reasonable suspicion or probable cause.

gigag04 wrote:I see what you're saying but in execution it's no different than if you refuse me entry in your home and a judge cuts a search warrant. The warrant is the game changer (if I'm following your post about the discrepancy correctly).

The conflict is spelled out in TTC 724.12 and .13 under the implied consent statute. .13 states you don't have to submit unless you meet the requirements in .012 which is pretty specific.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... tm#724.012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... tm#724.013" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

gigag04 wrote:

PUCKER wrote:"no refusal" just doesn't seem Constitutional to me.

gig - I know what HGN is, but I'm guessing that not every else does, how about a quick primer?

...not constitutional...???? It is an evidentiary search warrant supported by a probable cause affidavit sworn to a judge. Seems like the essence of keeping in line with 4A.

HGN stands for Horizotal Gaze Nystagmus, which is an involuntary jerking of the eyes. The SFSTs are valided and endorsed by numerous medical and professional studies.

The big issue with no refusal is there is a discrepancy in the statutes that states if a subject refuses, then they can't be forced to submit to a BAC of any type unless you were involved in an injury accident. I was on a voir dire that this exact issue was brought up and the statute is pretty clear. In a almost backward scenario in jury selection as a former LEO was that the prosecutor scratched me from his choice and the defense attorney wanted me because I would potentially be able to point out the discrepancy; usually the other way around.

As for forced BAC, my opinion is it can be a double edged sword. In many states there is a statute that says refusal is automatic suspension, so at least here in Texas you have a chance to beat the rap if you are on the edge of being under the legal limit.

If you had been drinking (and you had), even with just a couple of beers the officer will normally be able to smell it on your breath. Your friends are correct that an officer can cite you for DWI (DUI is for minors) if they feel you are impaired. However, if you feel you are not impaired, then IMO you should answer truthfully. Unless your speech is slurred and you are having trouble with your eyes tracking or walking, then you should not have an issue.

One note, if you have an impairment or other type of issue where you are not steady on your feet, you need to make sure the officer knows it before taking a FST. I know of a case where an individual failed the FST due to his swaggered walk and not being able to walk toe-to-heel. The officer took him in and charged him with DWI, even though he only blew a .04 BAC and had been told about the MS. Unfortunately it was a saturation weekend and the officers were looking to get volume, and he was leaving a concert, so the officer assumed there were other things in his system that were contributing to his impairment. The individual (my brother) had to produce documents showing he has MS (multiple sclerosis) and has trouble walking. The prosecutor eventually dropped the charges, but not until he had to do some major 'splainin'.