Judge dropped DUI charge against city attorney because trooper didn’t have permission to setup checkpoint

Published 11:23 am Monday, July 22, 2019

A judge who dismissed a drunken driving charge against a Mississippi city attorney says a highway patrol checkpoint was unconstitutional because there was no evidence state troopers had a supervisor’s permission for the checkpoint.

Lee County Justice Court Judge Chuck Hopkins tells The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that no documentation of a supervisor’s approval was included in the court record.

Hopkins on July 11 dismissed a DUI refusal charge against Tupelo City Attorney Ben Logan.

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Logan was charged in December with refusing a DUI breathalyzer test.

Logan’s lawyers argued a supervisor’s approval is necessary to comply with constitutional standards against unreasonable search and seizure.

There had been some uncertainty about why Hopkins had ruled. The judge says he told a trooper that the only mistake was failure to show permission.