DWI Driver Could Turn Around to Avoid Road Block. State v. Badessa 373 NJ Super. 84 (App. Div. 2004)
When a DWI checkpoint zone encompasses intersecting roads, proper on-the-scene warnings must include signs indicating no turns. Absent adequate warnings, the stop of a driver who makes a lawful turn onto an intersecting road within a DWI checkpoint zone is invalid unless there is an independent probable cause for the stop. 2. Defendant's refusal to submit to a Breathalyzer test (refusal), in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.49(a), is sufficiently attenuated from an illegal stop that evidence of the refusal is admissible at trial. 3. The refusal statute, N. J. S. A. 39:4-50.2(a), is premised on a driver's consent to submit to a Breathalyzer test when an officer has probable cause to believe that the driver is intoxicated. Consequently, it is not the probable cause for the stop but the probable cause to request the Breathalyzer test that provides the constitutional basis for a refusal charge.
