- posted: Dec. 09, 2025
Background
This holiday season, you may encounter a sight familiar to this time of year when driving on New Jersey roads. Local law enforcement agencies frequently run sobriety checkpoints on major roads and highways in their jurisdictions. These checkpoints are often set up on nights known to attract drinking and driving, including the evening before Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve.
While intended to disincentivize drunk driving, these checkpoints often face legal scrutiny as a result of the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. When driving on New Jersey roads during the holiday season, it is important that you know your rights regarding these checkpoints and how field sobriety testing is conducted.
Your Rights
Unlike a normal traffic stop, law enforcement does not need probable cause to question a driver if they are passing through a sobriety checkpoint. Rather, anyone passing through the checkpoint is subject to questioning and potential field sobriety evaluations depending on the law enforcement officer’s assessment of the driver.
An important caveat to note, however, is that these checkpoints cannot be random. As the Fourth Amendment provides protection against unreasonable search and seizure, courts have ruled that these checkpoints must be established based on the likelihood of DWI incidents occurring at a specific time and location.
Once a checkpoint is planned by a local law enforcement agency, the agency must then make the public aware of its existence. This is typically accomplished through posting the details of the checkpoint on social media. During the holiday season, we recommend that New Jersey drivers check the social media pages of their local law enforcement agencies to be made aware of any sobriety checkpoints in their areas.
EBM Law’s Experience and Resources
If you pass through a lawful checkpoint and are suspected of operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, EBM Law is prepared to provide you with a defense from a “Fighter, not a Handshaker.” Our office has represented thousands of DWI clients in jurisdictions around the state.
EBM Law provides New Jersey drivers with an abundance of resources to understand DWIs and their rights when pulled over. See our reference guide on penalties for DWIs and test refusals. Also, check out our articles on Affirmative Defenses to NJ DWIs: Parts One and Two, as well as our article on Affirmative Defenses to New Jersey DWI Refusals to understand legal strategies we use in DWI cases.
If you have any questions regarding sobriety checkpoints, New Jersey DWIs, or any other traffic or criminal matter, contact our offices at (732) 249-9933.
- posted: Dec. 09, 2025
Background
This holiday season, you may encounter a sight familiar to this time of year when driving on New Jersey roads. Local law enforcement agencies frequently run sobriety checkpoints on major roads and highways in their jurisdictions. These checkpoints are often set up on nights known to attract drinking and driving, including the evening before Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve.
While intended to disincentivize drunk driving, these checkpoints often face legal scrutiny as a result of the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. When driving on New Jersey roads during the holiday season, it is important that you know your rights regarding these checkpoints and how field sobriety testing is conducted.
Your Rights
Unlike a normal traffic stop, law enforcement does not need probable cause to question a driver if they are passing through a sobriety checkpoint. Rather, anyone passing through the checkpoint is subject to questioning and potential field sobriety evaluations depending on the law enforcement officer’s assessment of the driver.
An important caveat to note, however, is that these checkpoints cannot be random. As the Fourth Amendment provides protection against unreasonable search and seizure, courts have ruled that these checkpoints must be established based on the likelihood of DWI incidents occurring at a specific time and location.
Once a checkpoint is planned by a local law enforcement agency, the agency must then make the public aware of its existence. This is typically accomplished through posting the details of the checkpoint on social media. During the holiday season, we recommend that New Jersey drivers check the social media pages of their local law enforcement agencies to be made aware of any sobriety checkpoints in their areas.
EBM Law’s Experience and Resources
If you pass through a lawful checkpoint and are suspected of operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, EBM Law is prepared to provide you with a defense from a “Fighter, not a Handshaker.” Our office has represented thousands of DWI clients in jurisdictions around the state.
EBM Law provides New Jersey drivers with an abundance of resources to understand DWIs and their rights when pulled over. See our reference guide on penalties for DWIs and test refusals. Also, check out our articles on Affirmative Defenses to NJ DWIs: Parts One and Two, as well as our article on Affirmative Defenses to New Jersey DWI Refusals to understand legal strategies we use in DWI cases.
If you have any questions regarding sobriety checkpoints, New Jersey DWIs, or any other traffic or criminal matter, contact our offices at (732) 249-9933.
