Does State v. Ashworth Place Factors Over Substance?

The court of appeals reversed a defendant’s DWI conviction yesterday in State v. Ashworth, __ N.C. App. __ (August 2, 2016), on the basis that the trial court plainly erred in holding that the driver’s license checkpoint at which the defendant was stopped was appropriately tailored and advanced the public interest. Unlike some checkpoint cases in which you can see the trouble coming in the recitation of facts, Ashworth is a pretty routine checkpoint case. Two officers with the State Highway Patrol set up the checkpoint to look for driver’s license and other traffic violations. The highway patrol had a checkpoint policy that the officers followed. A supervisor approved the checkpoint. The defendant admitted that he had been drinking almost immediately after he stopped at the checkpoint. So where did the trial court go wrong? Facts. Two highway patrol officers decided to set up a checkpoint to detect driver’s license and other traffic law violations on July 31, 2013 at an intersection in Chapel Hill.  A supervisor authorized the checkpoint, which began around 8 p.m. There was no set ending time for the checkpoint. The defendant drove up to the checkpoint at 9:45 p.m.  A trooper asked for his driver’s license, which the defendant provided.  The trooper smelled alcohol coming from the vehicle and asked the defendant whether he had been drinking.  The defendant, with surprising candor, said, “You got me.  I had about five beers back to back, drank them real quick.” The defendant was subsequently arrested for impaired driving. [...]