DUI Arrested

DUI Arrested

Do you know what to do if you are stopped for DUI check? Do you know what to do if you are DUI arrested?

I was stopped and arrested for a DUI a few years ago. It was not my first traffic offense. But it was my first felony DUI arrest.

Thankfully I had read a number articles on what to do when you are stopped for a traffic violation. I done this because I've been ticketed for speeding, running red lights and even an HOV lane violation. Often my traffic violations were of a minor nature and I felt good about fighting them. I've gone to traffic many times. The research I had done was to prepare for court appearances.

DUI Arrested

The first you want to do is keep your mouth shut. The police officer will write down everything you say. He'll make notes specifically so he can refer to them in court. In addition, the police car will often have a video and audio recording device that will be recording everything.

The reason the officer will ask you questions is that he is trying to get you to incriminate yourself. For example, when you are pulled over for speeding, the officer will most likely asks if you know how fast you were going. If you say you were travelling at a speed over the posted limit, you just admitted to speeding.

Similarly, when you are stopped for DUI, the officer will often ask if you have been drink or how many drinks you have had. Here, it's tricky to answer. I don't think you should admit to drinking alcohol. You are practically admitting to DUI, it is just a question if you are over the legal limit of blood alcohol. However, I don't recommend lying to the officer if you are drunk, smell of alcohol or so appear intoxicated. Perhaps the best thing to say is "I refuse to answer that question".

I kept quiet and did not speak anymore than absolutely necessary. The officer wrote in his notes that I was "cooperative but defensive". I think that is a legitimate reaction to being stopped.

DUI Arrested

If you have been drinking and think you are over the limit, refuse the breathalyzer. Face facts, if you've been drinking with your friends and had five beers in the last 2 hours, you are over the limit. Do not take the breathalyzer and prove you are drunk. If you had one or two drinks at dinner, you could risk taking it and hope to be under the limit.

It helps to have a good reason for refusing the breathalyzer. I said "I wish to have a blood test because I believe it is more accurate". I did that because I didn't want to risk the breathalyzer and I thought that even if they took to a doctor to draw blood, it would take a lot of time and hopefully give me time to sober up. My heart was racing, so I figured my metabolism was up.

Now this may no be the best excuse, but in court it would sound better than just refusing the breathalyzer. I really don't have a better excuse to offer.

I refused the breathalyzer when he pulled me over. I also refused the breathalyzer when I arrived in jail. Each time I said "I wish to have a blood test because I believe it is more accurate" and then immediately shut up. I was told that it was not my choice, my license would suspended, etc. In fact, the officer tried several times to intimidate me into taking it. He was fearsome, and tried very hard to get me to submit. I held my ground and only repeated my refusal.

In my state, refusing the breathalyzer is a one year automatic suspension of your driver license. It is cut and dried and when you refuse, they will suspend. I made the choice between a one year suspension versus proving that I was drunk.

DUI Arrested

You should also refuse the field sobriety tests. These are the "stand on one leg" and "walk a straight line" tests. There is also the horizontal nystagmus test where the officer shines a pen light in your eyes. Apparently this is a damaging piece of evidence if it is performed by a trained officer. All of this is just to get more evidence against you.

First, these are designed for you fail. You are likely fail even when you are sober. Second, the cruiser dashboard camera will be videotaping and you will look drunk on tape. Third, the officer is probably going to say you failed regardless of how you perform. He has a quota of arrests to make. His job is to arrest you, and that's exactly what he is going to do.

I was dumb enough to submit to these tests. I performed the tests quite well. I executed walking heel to toe for 10 steps and turning around for another 10 steps without faltering. The officer still said I failed. When I stood on one leg, he said I moved my arms for balance and claimed I failed. I also failed the horizontal nystagmus test.

DUI Arrested

My case was dismissed in court. I hired an attorney and the first 4 times I went to court, the attorney got a "continuance". This means my trial date was rescheduled. Each time my attorney said he had a conflict with a case that the judge had already set a specific date for, so he had to try that case on the specific date.

Apparently the attorney (who handles many DUIs) has such a full case load that each case gets "continued" until the judge finally orders trial on specific date. If my attorney did truly have all those conflicts, he was a busy man.

I had to go to court each time. The attorney would not file for continuance until the day of the trial. He would wait to make sure both the arresting officer and the DA were in court and then ask the DA for a continuance. All the other attorneys appeared to be playing the same game.

Eventually the arresting officer missed 2 court dates in a row. On the first miss the DA "continued". On the second miss the judge dismissed it. This was luck and would never count on the arresting officer missing court. The court schedules trials so that the officer has all his cases on one day, and is prepared to be there. I got very lucky.