DUI arrests are among the most common interactions the average individual will have with law enforcement. Everyone, no matter their socioeconomic status, is a potential target for a DUI. In that vein, when confronted with a situation that may end in your arrest for a DUI, the proper actions to take are the same for everyone.
When pulled over for a DUI, there are a couple of things one should keep in mind. The first is that one should be respectful. The officer is only doing his or her job. Answer questions directly and as they are asked. The second point to remember is that your cooperation with law enforcement should end when you start incriminating yourself. The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution gives you an inviolable right against self-incrimination. The fifty states have their own constitutional counterparts to the federal amendment. One should never feel obligated to incriminate oneself.
For example, if you are asked by the police if you have been drinking, you should actually feel obligated not to answer. You should feel no obligation to answer questions about the specific amount you may have been drinking. If the officer asks you to step out of the car, you may then ask if you are under arrest. At no time must you exit the vehicle and perform any tests or answer any further questions. Common field sobriety tests (FSTs) can be failed by someone who is completely sober. One can perform substandardly on the one-legged stand or the line walk for a variety of reasons, none of which is intoxication. In short, they don't tell much about your sobriety, but failure or a deficient performance on any one of them creates the perception, as wrong as it may be, of guilt.
The overall thing to remember is that you are under no obligation to incriminate yourself. No matter what assurances the officer gives you, the prosecutor is always the one who makes the final decision on how to handle your case. At the very most, be cordial, respectful and polite, but do not cave to the pressure to "cooperate". Not only will things not be made batter, they in fact practically always end up worse. I have never in all my years of practice thought "Gee, I wish my client would have talked to the cops more." However, I have said the exact opposite to myself many times - I wish they had talked less. Often, a lot less!
If you do not offer a breath sample or a blood sample, and do not participate in any field sobriety tests, you stand a good chance of getting the initial DUI charge reduced or dismissed. You are not gaming the system, or getting off on some sort of "technicality" - it's simply exercising your constitutional rights. You can only exercise them if you know them, and that's the point of this article, to make sure you are properly educated and equipped in the event you are ever stopped and arrested for something you may in fact not have done.
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