subject: A Dui Attorney Explains Your Choices When Stopped For Dui [print this page] You all know the situationYou all know the situation. You are at a friend's house having a few drinks after work one evening. You decide to have that one last drink, and you are a little bit tipsy. It is getting late and you need to go to work in the morning, but you long for your own bed. You convince yourself that you can still drive home safely. While driving home, you roll through a stop sign turning into your neighborhood, a harmless traffic violation. But it is enough to get the police officer's attention, who was waiting for someone to drive by and run the stop sign. Your heart starts racing because you know he might suspect you of DUI. When the officer asks for your license and registration and goes back to his car, you think you are home free. But then he comes back and asks you to exit your vehicle, because he thinks you have been drinking. Your heart sinks to your feet and you wonder what to say or do next.
Before deciding what to do during the hypothetical DUI traffic stop, it is important to know a little bit about the anatomy of the DUI traffic stop. When a police officer suspects a driver of DUI, the officer will make an attempt to administer several tests at the scene, including the field sobriety tests and field breathalyzer test. If the subject fails those tests, then the officer will take the subject back to the police station, probably under arrest. At the station, another test for blood alcohol content will be given, either through breathalyzer, urine sample, or blood sample. All tests are used to gauge blood alcohol content or the level of the driver's impairment, and the state will try to use them in their DUI case against the driver.
The following are your basic choices when pulled over for suspected DUI:
1) Refuse all tests.
DUI attorney's often advise people to say no to every test, and ask that their DUI attorney be present at any questioning or testing. Other times this occurs when the driver knows he or she is guilty of DUI and will most likely fail the tests. It is important to note that, even though field sobriety tests are optional in many jurisdictions, the blood alcohol content test given at the station generally is mandatory. Most licensing authorities, and state legislatures, have enacted implied consent laws. Implied consent laws state that a driver, upon obtaining a driver's license, consents to the taking of any blood alcohol content test. Refusal will generally result in the automatic suspension of the driver's license. In some states, refusal results in a mandatory period of jail time (usually a few days).
2) Politely decline the field sobriety tests.
A lot of drivers will refuse the field sobriety tests, and with good reason. They are generally optional, and are designed to give the police officer a quick look at how impaired the driver is. In fact, many DUI attorneys will tell you that nothing good can come out of a field sobriety test and they should always be refused. Field sobriety testing can include nystagmus tests, reciting the alphabet, and standing on one leg, among other things.
3) Consent to the field breathalyzer.
Some analysts believe that blood or urine tests are more accurate than a breath test. However, they have proven to be unreliable in the field (i.e. at the scene). For this reason, the portable breathalyzer was invented, which measures blood alcohol level by testing molecules contained in the breath. There are a few breathalyzer devices, each using a different testing method, including the breathalyzer, intoxilyzer, and alcosensor. All three types have been used in the field. The field breathalyzer is usually optional.
4) Consent to all tests.
Despite all the DUI literature out there advising otherwise, many people consent to all tests, for various reasons. It might be because they don't know any better. Or it might be that they know they did something wrong and feel as though they should be punished. No matter what the reason, taking all tests will result in the most evidence against the driver in the DUI case.
5) Consent after refusal.
In many jurisdictions, there is a certain time period after the driver is pulled over that the blood alcohol content tests must be administered. In some of those jurisdictions, a driver may refuse to take the tests, then change his or her mind, as long as the test is given within the time period after the stop. This is playing with fire, however, because there may be a wait to take the test.
Back to the original question: what should one do when initially pulled over for suspected DUI? The answer is.... it depends. In actuality, each state has different laws and procedures. What might be optional in one state might not be optional in another. Time periods change, and the administration of the tests vary. But, even if someone refuses all tests, it is important to know that many states allow for a conviction of DUI without the tests. Know the laws of your state before setting out to drive.
