Raymond B. answered • 05/04/22
Math, microeconomics or criminal justice
It means if police pull you over for any reason, however minor the infraction, such as a failed tail light, odds are you're soon on your way to jail for a DUI, with mandatory jail in most states. Refuse a breath or other alcohol test and it's a mandatory suspension of your license, longer than if you were convicted of a DUI or DWI.
if they just have a hunch you're driving impaired to the slightest degree, by alcohol or even legal prescription drugs, they usually pretend they saw you weaving in your lane, and you smell of alcohol with bloodshot watery eyes. Some police cars just sit outside a bar waiting from a customer to leave, then the police follow you briefly before using some pretext to pull you over.
They may do a roadside field sobriety test which is more of a coordination test than totally sober people often fail. close your eyes, tilt you head back, hold you arms out, then try to touch you nose Miss ever so slightly for the nose tip, with your finger and they write that down as another indicator of DUI, driving under the influence of something. Another test is walk the line, often with no line, which makes it more unreliable. you walk the line, turn and walk back. IF your shoes go off the line, more notes in their police report. You do this all as traffic whizzes by, making it hard to hear everything the officer says, plus the cars and 18 wheelers make you feel unsafe and more nervous. And you're already very nervous.
Some ask you to say the alphabet, some ask you to say it backwards. Some sneaky police ask you who is buried in Grant's Tomb.
Then there's the roadside breath test, considered so unreliable it's not allowed in court, but it's enough for the offficer to arrest you for DUI. They take you to the station, and give you the admissible breath test. It also has a margin of error, maybe 10%. Most states have a legal limit of .08 BAC if you're within 10% of that you have a chance of acquittal with a jury trial. .08 BAC usually is interpreted as more than 2 beers. Check whether the breath test machine had been calibrated. Sometimes they do a quality assuance test, and if it failed, they just do it a few more times until it passes once, record that and then they conceal the times it failed. It's very suspicious if it always passes the calibration check. Same with their radar, if they pulled you over for speeding, using radar guns.
They ask you "have you been drinking?" If you say yes, add that you just had 2 beers only.
You can usually get a DUI even if you're parked in your garage, if somehow they come upon you there. A public road is not required. IF you're passed out in your driveway, that could be an invitation for police to knock on your window.
Or they may require a blood test. It's fairly accurate, and harder to beat in court. Sometimes though the police lab tests are contaminated and give results that include the previous blood that was tested.
Eat a sandwhich or any bread and it can elevate your BAC up to .02
Request an attorney when they begin quetioning you at the station. Get the name or at least badge number of the officer, if they refuse you the chance to make a phone call.
IF there was an accident, that's more problems, criminally and civilly. Even if the other driver who turns out to be totally sober, really caused the accident, police will assume you caused it if you had any alcohol in your system. That means your insurance company may not even defend you and just settle the case, assuming that you must be liable.
Then there's higher insurance premiums if you can get auto insurance at all after the DUI.
It alll gets very expensive, quickly.
Odds are you'll need a lawyer, which costs more money.
A public defender can be good, as that's all they do are criminal cases, and DUIs are a major part of public defender work.
Or if you pay for a private attorney, get one who specializes in DUI cases, not just dabbles in them. But you may want to wait and see if the public defender can get the case dismissed or a "lenient" plea deal to some lesser charge. But still have a private attorney lined up, in case the public defender doesn't seem promising.
