PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

I represented a man who was charged with driving while impaired and blew nearly double the legal limit. He was driving down a four lane road and noticed a block. Fortunately for him the roadblock was set on the other side of the road but it was between him and his destination which was also on the other side of the four lane road. He turned left past the roadblock and then turned left again on a side road to get to the road he needed. He was stopped by the chase officer at the roadblock who opined that he was avoiding the roadblock. I made a motion to suppress the stop of his vehicle and all the evidence gathered thereafter based on my theory that the police officer had no right to stop him. The North Carolina Roadblock Statue and some cases say that the police can stop a vehicle that turns away within the perimeter of a roadblock. I convinced the Judge that the roadblock was set up inartfully and my clients traverse around that obstruction never put him within the perimeters of the roadblock and so that the stop of his vehicle was unlawful. The Judge agreed with me and suppressed all the evidence gathered after the stop of his vehicle. His case was then dismissed by the Court.