What to do When You Are Suspected of Being DUI?

After watching a client's video recently, I was “impressed” with the police officer's ability to get my client to make admissions and to do things contrary to her interest.  The officer, very skillfully, got her to make admissions as to from where she had been coming, how much she had to drink, and convinced her to do field sobriety testing.  He built his case against her, all while having already made the decision to make an arrest before she had complied with his request. 

You may ask how I know he made the decision to arrest.  The answer is that a tow truck appeared on the scene before her completion of the field sobriety tests.  As a result, there was no advantage to her cooperation at all; in fact, everything she did in compliance with the officer's instructions only made her situation worse.

What to do When You Are Suspected of Being DUI:

Do not answer questions about from where you are coming or where you are going.  These questions are designed to hold you out in a bad light. 

Always ask if you are free to leave or under arrest.  If you are under arrest, certain rights apply at that time.  Make the officer commit to you either being free to leave or under arrest.  If you are being detained, do not answer questions or submit to any evaluations.

Never answer questions about how much you had to drink.  Police officers take these answers out of context. A person, for example, may have had four drinks but over several hours.  A police officer will never ask over how many hours.

Do not submit to a PBT (preliminary breath test) on the side of the road.  The Alco-sensor is inaccurate and can influence an officer's decision to arrest.  

Do not submit to field sobriety testing.  There is no way that even a sober person can pass these tests.  They were designed to be failed to provide the police a reason to make an arrest.  They are also subjectively scored by the police officer who will have already made his or her decision to make an arrest before they even administered the tests.

After implied consent is read, you will have to submit to the State-Administered breath, blood, or urine test.  You can refuse this testing, but you may suffer up to a one-year license suspension as a result of the refusal.

Remember, it is likely the police officer has already made his or her decision to make an arrest before you even step out of the car.  There is no reason to provide additional evidence against yourself.