First Sheriff’s Sobriety Checkpoint Set Tonight

The first drunk-driving checkpoint operated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will be set up tonight in the east San Gabriel Valley.

Under an emergency ordinance adopted by the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 18, the roadblock will be modeled after the heavily publicized and controversial program begun this holiday season by the California Highway Patrol.

The checkpoint will be in a county unincorporated area and operated from 10 p.m. tonight to 3 a.m. Sunday. The location is not expected to be revealed until this evening because several sites are still under consideration, said Deputy Linda Edmonds, a department spokeswoman.

No additional roadblocks are currently planned, but Sheriff Sherman Block has said he would like to use the checkpoints periodically throughout the year, if funds are available. “I think to be truly effective this process has to be more than just a year-end type function,” he said in an interview last week.

Sobriety checkpoints have come under attack from the American Civil Liberties Union, which claims they violate constitutional protections against unreasonable searches. The ACLU was denied a request for a court order to immediately halt the CHP program. However, the state Court of Appeal has agreed to consider the case at a later date.