It is that time of the year again in Harrisburg and all of Pennsylvania where we celebrate Thanksgiving by setting up roadblocks and by doing so to allow the Government to quasi-invade and violate our personal liberties and freedoms by stopping us along our lawful way. It seems that Pennsylvania DUI roadblocks are being announced all over the Harrisburg, Carlisle, Hershey, Lebanon, York, Reading, Lancaster, Gettysburg and Chambersburg areas.
(An amazing 4 lane highway totally shut down for a Pennsylvania DUI checkpoint)
So, why is this allowed?
It is legally supposedly justified, in part, based upon statistics.
(Do statistics really matter in Pennsylvania DUI?)
In the state of Pennsylvania supposedly DUI offenses last year allegedly accounted for more than 2,100 crashes in Pennsylvania. In 2008, according to fuzzy math statistics, more than 53,000 people were arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Pennsylvania. Additionally, last year more than 8,500 of those were arrested for what we call DUID of Driving Under the Influence of Drugs or Controlled Substances.
While these statistics have never been independently verified by an outside source, they are at the very least formidable.
As a Pennsylvania DUI Attorney we look to challenge the validity and legality of Pennsylvania DUI roadblocks. Tomorrow we will look into what is required to justify a Pennsylvania DUI roadblock.
But here is my open question of this post, what are the true source of these statistics? How are they verified? Also, where are the statistics of people who have been unjustly accused of a Pennsylvania DUI? How many people have had their cases dismissed or have been found not guilty?
Simply being accused of a crime is not evidence to be used in a criminal case for a Pennsylvania DUI.
-Justin J. McShane, Esquire, Pennsylvania DUI Attorney
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Justin McShane
PA DUI attorney Justin J. McShane is the President/CEO of The McShane Firm, LLC - Pennsylvania's top criminal law and DUI law firm. He is the highest rated DUI attorney in PA as rated by Avvo.com. Justin McShane is a double Board certified attorney. He is the first and so far the only Pennsylvania attorney to achieve American Bar Association recognized board certification in DUI defense from the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. He is also a Board Certified Criminal Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Approved Agency.