ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 2, 1996 TAG: 9611040026
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
CITING THE PRESENCE of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers at Franklin County stops, two lawyers have asked to be there also.
Rocky Mount lawyers John Boitnott and David Furrow wrote the superintendent of the state police tongue-in-cheek letters last month asking if they could attend traffic stops set up to nab drunken drivers.
Boitnott and Furrow say their letters weren't written so they could find a new way to drum up business.
Nor are they interested in passing out coffee to police officers or providing on-the-spot advice.
They say they wrote their letters to state police Superintendent Wayne Huggins because they're concerned with an ongoing practice in Franklin County - one that allows representatives of the local Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization to attend DUI checkpoints. The lawyers think there are legal issues to explore - such as invasion of privacy - concerning MADD members' presence at the traffic stops.
"There is no reason to prefer certain members of the public over others," Boitnott wrote.
"I believe I am just as interested in the proper enforcement of the law as the MADD group," Furrow wrote.
Tom Altman, president of MADD's Smith Mountain Lake chapter, said he has attended checkpoints to show support for law enforcement and to increase public awareness of the perils of drunken driving.
Altman said he usually sits in a chair near his vehicle and gets nowhere near officers making arrests.
He said the MADD group does provide refreshments to officers during their breaks.
If Boitnott and Furrow want to help in MADD's effort, Altman said he would welcome them.
Lt. Col. Gerald Massengill of the Virginia State Police's Richmond office said he also sees nothing wrong with Boitnott and Furrow attending traffic stops in Franklin County, under certain circumstances.
For instance, the lawyers wouldn't be allowed to hand out business cards, he said. But, if space permitted, they could monitor the traffic stops at a distance, just as MADD representatives should be doing now.
Massengill said he recently attended a checkpoint in Richmond at which close to 100 people - including members of various groups along with interested members of the public - were in attendance.
"It's not uncommon for members of the general public to attend, especially in metropolitan areas," he said.
The Richmond state police office wrote Furrow, advising him that Capt. Charles Compton, who heads the Salem state police division, has been asked to discuss the matter with the Rocky Mount lawyers, Massengill said.
Compton could not be reached for comment Friday.
Boitnott and Furrow are familiar with driving under the influence law because they represent a number of clients charged with the offense.
Furrow said he recently attended a seminar on advanced defense practices for DUI charges.
And Boitnott recently won a case in which a young woman was charged with a DUI at a traffic stop. He successfully argued that the checkpoint didn't follow a required plan that the state police must submit prior to the operation.
The plan called for the traffic stop to be conducted between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. Instead, the traffic stop ran from 9:27 p.m. to 3 a.m., Boitnott said.
The judge ruled that the stop overstepped its own boundaries.
Boitnott said the case spurred him and Furrow to discuss other legal aspects of the local checkpoints, including MADD's participation.
Both said they don't condone drunken driving and they have no problem with MADD's overall purpose.
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