How to Protect yourself during a DUI investigation
When a police officer suspects that a driver is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, he or she will conduct an investigation that can culminate in a DUI arrest. Here, I am will attempt to explain how to protect yourself during a DUI investigation.
A police officer who pulls you over might appear friendly, but he is on his job, which includes pulling people over and investigating them for DUI. DUI attorney Los Angeles recommends that you do not help the police officer conduct his investigation. Part of his job involves investigation of various crimes and citing drivers for traffic violation. A police officer does have discretion and does not have to arrest you unless he suspects that you are guilty of drunk driving in Los Angeles. However, if the police officer has “probable cause” to believe that you are under the influence, he must arrest you. Public policy demands that a police officer arrests all DUI drivers or risks losing his job simply because if he will allow a drunk driver to remain on the road and that drunk driver kills someone, it will be that police officers fault. Our society is unforgiving to the police officers who fail to protect them. The police officer will also have to live with the consequences of being responsible for the death or injury to an innocent person he swore to protect. Because of these public policy concerns, Los Angeles DUI investigation are more likely to result in an arrest once the investigation is started. Los Angeles DUI attorney explains how to protect yourself during a DUI investigation.
First: do not argue with the police officer, comply with orders but do not blindly answer investigatory DUI questions. A police officer who is investigating a DUI, will likely ask you to submit to a Preliminary Alcohol Screening Breath Test right before he or she arrests you. The results of that test, if above .08% will be part of the reason to arrest you and will be used as evidence of a DUI in court. However, for the results to be valid, the officer has to observe you for 15 minutes before the test is given. During those 15 minutes the officer asks you seemingly irrelevant questions and asks you to perform a series of field sobriety tests (FST’s).
The questions that officer asks are designed to attack any possible defenses that you might have and to undermine your credibility if you would chose to testify at trial.
One of the questions the officer will ask if how many drinks you had and when. Most people lie and say a lesser number of drinks and longer ago than they actually had. A test of the alcohol in your blood will determine a range of how many drinks you had based on the time of drinking. That is not an exact science, but will mostly be accurate. If you lie to a police officer, the test will show it and it will your testimony less credible because the prosecutor will have evidence of you lying about the number of drinks – helping undermine your credibility. If you tell the truth, you will only confirm the test and its reliability can not be questioned.
Los Angeles DUI lawyer recommends that you politely tell the officer that you are not willing to answer his questions. The answers or the field sobriety tests will not help you to avoid a DUI arrest. The fields sobriety tests are very subjective in nature and are designed to fail you. They are highly subjective and can be failed by a sober person just like by an intoxicated person. If your breath test show a result that is above .08% but you do well on the field sobriety test, the police will assume that you have high tolerance to the alcohol and do well on the FST because you drink often. Simply, they will say that you drink every day and because of that your tolerance is very high. Such information is not helpful for your DUI defense and most prosecutors will be convinced that you guilty of a DUI as long as your blood alcohol level is above .08% blood alcohol content. The field sobriety tests will not help your DUI. On the other hand, because the test is subjective, a slight deviation from the test will cause the officer to conclude that you are impaired from alcohol or drugs and simply write in the report that you did not perform as instructed.
Los Angeles DUI attorney recommends that when requested by a Los Angles DUI police investigating officer, politely ask if you are required by the law to comply with questions and the tests and when the officer says “no”, tell him that you don’t want to do it without your lawyer present. The police officer can lie and tell you that you are required to do the field sobriety tests. Do not argue with him but ask for his commanding officer to come to the scene to confirm that. You can also tell the officer that you are only required to submit to a breath or blood alcohol concentration test in the station. Eventually, you should be able to avoid answering questions asked by police, avoid performing the field sobriety tests and submitting to a blood alcohol screening test at the police station or a medical officer. Unfortunately, to get that far you will most likely have to be arrested. That is not a pleasant experience but the best ways to defend your case. Remember, arrest is not a conviction and you will usually let go from the police station within hours.
For specific questions about your DUI please contact our office and talk to a drunk driving lawyer directly. Los Angeles DUI lawyer can answer most of your questions in a free consultation and if you decide to hire him, will give you an affordable rate with a great payment plan. Call us now to talk to the attorney about your case.
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What a great resource!