" Wow -- "The goal of the DUI checkpoint is to get unlicensed drivers off the road and arrest those who are driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs."

I'd be interested to know if that quote came from NPD or from a Register writer... "

" Im rollin through this road block by riding the trolley. FOR FREE! "

" The wording of the Police Department's official release can be seen on the front page at www.cityofnapa.org. "

" In response to the first comment, I would bet dollars to donuts that line came from Ms. Dorgan. Isn't a DUI checkpoint self-explanatory? Duh! "

" Per the City of Napa website:

"The emphasis of the checkpoint will be to detect drunk drivers and those with suspended, revoked, or no driver license."

Kudos to NPD for including the search for unlicensed drivers in their press info. "

" All aboard the trolley! "

" Why does the register keep giving the drunks and illgals pre-notification? Is the PD required to warn everyone first?
Seems to me it should be reported AFTER the fact. "

" SAVENAPA: The whole purpose of the DUI Checkpoint is to get drunk drivers off the streets, either by taking them to jail or preventing them from ever getting in their car in the first place. By announcing the Checkpoint, the newspaper is essentially making the streets safer.

Sure, we may nab a few drunk drivers by not announcing the checkpoint. However, we may also prevent an accident by scaring a would be drunk driver from ever taking the wheel. "

" If the NPD now admits that the purpose of the checkpoint includes detecting drivers with suspended, revoked, or no driver license, then that makes the checkpoint illegal. I am all in favor of arresting illegal drivers, but it should be done legally. The courts have only authorized checkpoints for DUI. "

" Oh for crying (whining) out loud J. Richards....ya think maybe driving on a suspended license or without a license or one which has been revoked is a bit more illegal than pulling the idiot off the road? There's a reason they got the license pulled or don't have one, and I'd rather have the cops take them off the road than a tow truck when they bash into someone I know....or family. The checkpoint is not illegal. The person violating the law is illegal. If you don't want to get nailed, then it's a simple fix....DON'T DRIVE! "

" ANybody else sick of this Legal B.S. that uses the law against Our Citizens instead of for them!! Get all the Unlicensed Drivers, Unregistered Vehicles, UnInsured motorists, Illegal & Drunk Drivers off the road no matter what it takes!! This crap about protecting some peoples rights is ruining our country. If they are purposely and recklessly breaking the law, they should go directly to jail period!! The people who want to protect the wrong are making it difficult for the law biding people in the right to fathom this way of thinking.. "

" I'm with jwk on this one! I've been hit twice; both times the drivers were unlicensed! Get them off the streets any way you can! Thank you, Napa police! "

" John Richards wrote on Sep 4, 2008 7:34 PM:
" If the NPD now admits that the purpose of the checkpoint includes detecting drivers with suspended, revoked, or no driver license, then that makes the checkpoint illegal. I am all in favor of arresting illegal drivers, but it should be done legally. The courts have only authorized checkpoints for DUI. "

I don't know what the difference is, but in Hawaii they can't ask you for your D/L or other required paperwork unless they have reason to conduct a field sobriety test at the checkpoint....

There, a DUI checkpoint is only for suspected impaired drivers or visible open containers of alcohol... That way the checkpoints have the least negative effect on traffic, and things go pretty fast... In addition, they only spot check cars there, not every driver as if it was a road block... Road blocks there are only legal if they are looking for suspects... "

" Wow if they wanted to remove drunks from the road you think the might pull over a tourist or two considering all they are doing is drinking and driving all over the valley. "

" Do ya think the P.D. would ask for a driver's license, take enforcement action, and impound a car if it were not legal??? The consequences would not be good for the officers involved. The question of the legality of DUI checkpoints has been decided by the U. S. Supreme Court, whose decision applies to every state in the union. The Supreme Court has laid out requirements, like the prior notice given in this article. The officers CAN check driver's licenses. "

" I think we all should post up at the check ponit ,bring some popcorn and and make a night of it ! Its free & safe and maybe bring are kids there and teach them this is what happen when your dumb Just like Drug Court start clapping as they go to jail !!! LOL "

" Most ot the people that will be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs won't be reading the NVR anyway so they won't know about the checkpoint. Most unlicensed drivers don't know how to read so they won't know about the checkpoint either. "

" John Richards, Why are the rights of people driving illegally (revoked, suspended, etc...) or driving illegal vehicles (unregistered, uninsured) of such paramount concern? Beyond the academic argument, we're talking about individuals demonstrating a flagrant disregard for the law. They demonstrate a lack of consideration and respect, yet they should be shown consideration in return? Due in great part to this faction, insurance premiums are outrageous and we have little choice in the decision to carry coverage against uninsured/under-insured motorists. I applaud any effort to rid ourselves of this blight on society. "

" Whole lot of Blah, blah, blah going on here. If one is dumb enough and drunk enough to drive, then prepare for the consequences. Even if one avoids the check point. There is no escaping lady luck. Enough said. Some of you need to quit with the prejudice remarks. This has nothing to do with what this article is referring to. STOP THE IGNORANCE! STOP THE DRUNK DRIVERS! "

" I think the first sentence in the article is an excellent indicator of the agenda of the police: "Napa drivers had best not decide to drink and get behind the wheel of their car."

Napa drivers, not just drivers or even wine tasting drivers and visitors, just Napa drivers...

A simple slip of the tongue can give it all away... "Don't mess with the tourists." They come here to drink, and that's where the money comes from... Not to mention canning the deal for all those new hotel rooms... "

" Taxi anyone?? "

" I believe Mr. Richards is alluding to the concept that as U.S. Citizens, we have the constitutional right, and expectation, to be sheltered from unreasonable search and seizure. The question he asks is "How much of your personal freedom are you willing to give away in order to "be safe"?" Neither do I want myself, nor anyone else, to suffer an accident with any driver, especially one that is unlicensed/uninsured. The DUI checkpoints are in reality a dragnet that subjects everyone, innocent and guilty alike, to a search. As long as everyone agrees that the ends (removal of illegal drivers from the road) justify the means (search of everyone), this can continue. I'm not sure where the line on this gets drawn, but I do know our personal freedom and privacy is eroding as we allow these types of intrusions into our personal lives. Video camera surveillance is so prevalent as to be expected nowadays. Thirty years ago it would have been thought of as totalitarian government intrusion. Are we more safe because of this? I don't think so. (Although there are specific circumstance exclusions.) But I guess it is a matter of personal opinion. For me less is more. The ends do not justify the means. "

" This story only has part of the information. Remember journalism class? Who, what, WHERE, when, why? First one to post the location of the checkpoint gets a big thumbs up from me! That's why bloggers are better than so-called "journalists". I bet the Register could figure it out and post it if they wanted to. Maybe they're sharing the loot with the police. "

" Can someone tell us where the checkpoint is? "

" Driving is a privilege and I don't think a DUI checkpoint is an unreasonable search. What is so important to know the exact location? You want to not drive to it to watch the action or not get caught? "

" Just like when flying I'd be happy to go through a DUI type of checkpoint every time I drive. After being reared in three times in Napa (every time while stopped) it would almost be nice to be in an accident and actually have the other driver be insured and having insurance. I could drive safe rather than scared to death as when I watched a drunk driver weaving in and out into the wrong lanes on Lincoln Ave.. Only the skills of the on coming drivers prevented a head on collsion.

Thanks Napa PD. Keep up the great work!! "

" reality1, you are correct, DUI checkpoints are legal under narrow guidelines laid out by the Supreme Court. However, when it becomes a "DUI" checkpoint in name only, and the preponderance of citations written are for violations other than DUI, then it becomes an illegal police dragnet. "

" NUHS67: Why would someone want to know where the checkpoint is? There are several good reasons:
First, checkpoints are a waste of time. There's a long line and then the possibility of further delays if the cops start asking you questions and making you do jumping jacks and say the alphabet backwards. You can usually save time by driving around them. It's just like, for example, driving around a construction zone with delays, or a traffic jam that you know about ahead of time. No rational person *wants* to drive through a checkpoint; you just want the *other* people to drive through it. If napacabdriver really is a cab driver, he can confirm this. I'm curious whether he would make a passenger ride through a checkpoint and pay extra if he knew about the checkpoint ahead of time.
Second, there is just too much police brutality in Napa (and elsewhere). Innocent people can become the victims of police brutality. So unless you have a good reason to drive through the checkpoint, even if you're innocent, you're safer to drive around it. When there are cops around (and I'm not even going to get into racial profiling), innocent people are more likely to suffer from police brutality. It's a big problem here.
Third, some people drive drunk. You're not going to stop them from driving drunk all the time, period. But, if you tell those people the exact location of the checkpoint, they might not drive at all tonight (if the checkpoint is at a bottleneck where there are no easy detours--are the cops smart enough to figure this out?). Probabilities do not deter like certainty deters.
And those are just the "good" reasons... "

" go get em Napa PD...I called all my friends and told them to stay off the roads tonight! The Napa Cab services should make some money...lol; Let's wait and see where the latest dui checkpoint will be tonight, hum silverado trail-trancas/lincoln/jefferson or let's see my last guess soscal/trancas...duh? why don't you try hwy 29 or silverado trail around any given winery? oh wait can't do that? "

" A checkpoint near a winery on Highway 29 or the Trail would make too much sense. These cops aren't that smart. Or how about a checkpoint at the exit of the courthouse parking lot? Do you really think that Rushing is the only judge in the state who drives drunk, the only hypocrite who gives harsh sentences with a flask of whisky hidden behind the bench? The whole thing is a joke!

Still waiting to hear where the checkpoint was... "

" dwayne, thank you for clarifying. if this is really true, it would ameliorate some of my previous concerns, which are like robert.perhaps 1000 innocent people do not actually have to stop and get questioned after all.
the idea that we can continue programs that are 99% inneficient when the deficit in ca. alone , is 15 billion, is unsustainable.
this will be the 1st program to get cut because: $450,000 from a state "grant" funds the so called d.u.i. checkpoint. add %50,000 for interest on this loan we take out and that's a half a billion. multiply times just 30 communities the size of napa and the huge deficit is eliminated in a single year! "

" The last check point was done by a tourist location. And tourists were arrested. The reason the public is notified, is because that is the law. They are required to notify the public when there is going to be a check point. They realize that the people that are drinking are not going to be like "wait, theres a check point, lets not get drunk." and that is how they get caught. They usually don't think to look ahead and drive away from one, they just drive right into the middle of it. That is the whole point. "

" So if the officials realize that people that are drinking aren't going to avoid driving because there's a DUI checkpoint, why do so many people here think that the thought of getting their name in the NVR six months later is going to be such a great deterrent ? "

" I think we would all be safer if Napa PD conducted nightly home searches for drugs, illegals, and guns. I would be willing to give them my rights for the safety of knowing that my neighbor isnt harboring terrorists in his basement.

Give me a break! YES! My rights are more important to me than a few people driving around without a DL. "