A Chattanooga man’s drunken driving conviction has been dismissed after the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Tuesday that a roadblock that led to his arrest was unconstitutional.
A Hamilton County jury convicted Robert A. Franklin, 58, of driving under the influence in 2016, a charge that resulted from a 2012 roadblock near the tunnel on Cherokee Boulevard, during which he had a 0.12 blood-alcohol level. Of the 285 cars that passed through the roadblock, Franklin was the only one who was arrested for DUI; a handful of others were cited.
But Franklin and his attorneys, Jerry Summers and Ben McGowan, argued that state highway patrol officers didn’t alert the public beforehand about the roadblock, didn’t give drivers proper notice, and didn’t pick a safe or relevant location. These shortcomings didn’t satisfy the guidelines officers are supposed to follow for roadblocks, the attorneys argued, and they violated Franklin’s Fourth Amendment protection against illegal searches and seizures.
The appeals court justices agreed and said Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole should have accepted Franklin’s 2013 and 2014 motions to dismiss.
“Although the record provides limited information as to the exact location of the checkpoint, it does indicate that the checkpoint was located only a short distance from the exit of the tunnel,” Justice Camille McMullen wrote in the opinion. “We strongly question whether tunnels, which provide the motorists limited space in which to avoid accidents and place officers and motorists at increased risk of harm, should ever be utilized to conceal checkpoints.