Lori Grisham,
A South Florida lawyer has come
up with a novel way for drivers to handle police drunk-driving checkpoints and
posted a video about it that has gotten over 2 million Internet views. But how
wise it it?
A Florida attorney has gained
attention recently for distributing controversial fliers online that drivers
can show police during traffic stops and checkpoints in order to avoid arrest
for driving under the influence.
"It's a method for
innocent people to protect themselves from a bad DUI arrest," attorney
Warren Redlich, who is based in Boca Raton, told USA TODAY Network.
People are charged with DUIs
after consuming an alcohol amount under the legal limit because police say they
can smell alcohol on their breath or because an accent or speech pattern is
interpreted as slurred speech, according to Redlich.
The Florida flier advises
drivers stopped by police to keep their car windows rolled up and to hold the
flier up so it's visible. It also tells them to display their license,
registration and insurance to police through the window.
"Do not speak at all. Not
one word. Record everything with audio and, if possible, video. Keep your hands
where the officer can see them," it reads.
Redlich's method does not sit
well with law enforcement officials who point out that the U.S. Supreme Court
in 1990 upheld the use of random DUI checkpoints, concluding they don't violate
constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
"They wouldn't be allowed
out of that checkpoint until they talk to us. We have a legitimate right to do
it," Sheriff David Shoar of St. Johns County, president of the Florida
Sheriffs Association, told the Associated Press in an interview.
However, Redlich and his
associates have uploaded videos of their method online showing that the
practice works. The most popular one was uploaded on Jan. 1 and has been
watched more than 2 million times. In it, the police read the paperwork and
allow the car to proceed through the checkpoint.
Redlich's website, fairdui.org,
has fliers available for various states but said that he doesn't recommend
anyone use them in places other than New York and Florida, where Redlich has
practiced law, without talking to a lawyer first.
Redlich said he does not see
what he is doing as aiding drunken drivers.
"(Drivers) have to remain
silent, be patient," he said. "And you have to follow the
instructions on the back of the card. Drunk people aren't good at those
things."
