Criminal Practice – DWI – Driver’s License Checkpoint – Every Car – No Discretion

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State v. Farris (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-16-0363, 10 pp.) (Martha Geer, J.) Appealed from Burke County Superior Court (Nathaniel Poovey, J.) N.C. App. Unpub.

Holding: Based on the testimony of a state trooper, there was competent evidence to support the trial court’s finding that all the vehicles were stopped at a checkpoint for drivers’ licenses, registration and proof of insurance. Regardless of whether, as defendant testified, one car did, in fact, pass through the checkpoint without being stopped, there is competent evidence to support the trial court’s finding that the officers did not have discretion in deciding which vehicles were stopped. This finding, in turn, supports the trial court’s conclusion that the checkpoint was constitutional.

We find no error in defendant’s conviction of driving while impaired.

The possibility that one car was able to sneak past the checkpoint is insufficient to undermine the trial court’s finding that the officers did not have discretion in deciding which car to stop, much less render the entire checkpoint unreasonable.