The number of motor vehicle accidents caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs usually increases significantly during holiday periods. This is why law enforcement agencies in New York and around the country often launch holiday drunk driving crackdowns. These efforts usually include setting up checkpoints near bars, nightclubs and other areas where drunk driving is common that are designed to identify impaired motorists before they cause accidents.The legality of sobriety checkpoints was challenged in 1990 by Michigan residents who claimed that they violated protections against unreasonable government search and seizure guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment. In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the role sobriety checkpoints play in deterring drunk driving and improving road safety outweighed a negligible" inconvenience for drivers. The justices also [...]