*Refusing to submit to sobriety tests will almost certainly result
in your arrest. Refusing to submit to a breath or blood test by law
will result in a driver’s license suspension.
What do you do when pulled over and suspected of DWI? This is the
number one question I’m asked socially when people find out I’m a
criminal lawyer. Now, my first advice is that they don’t drive drunk!
However, there is nothing illegal or criminal about having a few drinks
and then driving home as long as you aren’t intoxicated. So, let’s use a
hypothetical that you had a few glasses of wine with your dinner at one
of our local steakhouses on a Friday night. As you’re driving home you
see those red and blue flashing lights and your heart begins to race
because you were speeding 10mph over the limit. I think most people
would be surprised to know that most DWI arrests start with a minor
traffic citation like speeding or not signaling for a turn. It’s
important to know at all times: You’re being videotaped the entire time
and that the officer WILL use everything you say or do against you in
court. I’ve seen a lot of cases where the defendants think they can
talk their way out of a DWI and they are wrong! So, what do you do?
1. Find a safe place to pull over your vehicle and use proper turn signals to do so.
2. Have your driver’s license and proof of insurance ready to hand the officer.
3. If the Officer smells alcohol he or she is going to ask you if you’ve had anything to drink tonight. Do not lie to them! Tell them you had a drink with dinner. Do not volunteer information like how many drinks you had and what kind of drinks they were, etc.
At this point the officer is going to ask you to step out of the
vehicle. The Officer is then going to tell you to put your feet together
and your arms at your side as he shines a light on your forehead and
raises a pen. He’s about to check your eyes for Horizontal Gaze
Nystagmus, which is the first sobriety test.
4. When the officer tries to begin a test on your eyes take a step back and politely
tell the Officer that you will be glad to perform any tests or answer
any further questions when your attorney is present! This is the most important step!
Most officers start the sobriety testing these days without even asking
the individual if they will take a sobriety test. Most people who have
never been pulled over on suspicion of DWI don’t even know they have
begun Standardized Field Sobriety Tests until they have already
completed the eye exam. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO SAY NO AND YOU SHOULD! All you have done is invoked your constitutional right to have counsel present. You
need to know if you’re being investigated for DWI and you refuse to
submit to sobriety tests it will almost certainly lead to your arrest.
However, if you’ve had one too many, perform the tests and fail you will
not only be arrested but you will have given evidence to convict you of
DWI.
5. Why would you refuse these tests knowing it will lead to your arrest on this evening? Chances
are no matter how you perform on these sobriety tests the officer isn’t
going to release you if it’s late at night and you smell like alcohol.
Not to mention these sobriety tests are difficult for people in good
physical shape. The safe bet is to deny them altogether, especially if
you have bad balance or coordination. There are three sobriety tests
known as the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, the Walk and Turn, and the One
Leg Stand. You will not know how you are being graded on these tests
and will not be allowed to practice. JUST SAY NO UNLESS YOUR ATTORNEY CAN BE PRESENT TO ADVISE YOU! How will that look to the jury when the Officer arrests you for invoking your rights with no physical evidence?
6. What evidence will the Officer have against you following this
advice? In this hypothetical, speeding, admitting to having alcohol with
dinner (which is legal), and no sobriety tests because you invoked your
right to counsel. Thus, no evidence of intoxication! The officer is
going to arrest you, which is almost certainly what would have happened
anyway if you think you had one too many to drink. REMEMBER: YOU ARE ON
VIDEO WITH AUDIO THE ENTIRE TIME. Even in the back of the police car
when the officer is not present.
7. After they arrest you they will read you a form called the
DIC-24 form that asks for a specimen of breath or blood and warn you of
license suspension if you fail the test or do not take the test. It’s
important you know that your license will be suspended for refusing the
test or not taking it. At this point you are under arrest and are going
to jail anyway. They will not release you if you were to even blow
under the legal limit. Where’s the incentive? Besides, the breath test
or blood test would be taken 1-2 hours after you were initially pulled
over thus it wouldn’t be reliable to show what you were at the time you
were driving, which is when your intoxication matters. The jury will get
to see that this test wasn’t even offered until AFTER you were
arrested!
8. When you are at the jail they will ask you questions for their report such as where you were going, how much sleep you had, when you last ate, etc. DO NOT ANSWER ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS. Again, you only have to tell them your name, address, and show proof of insurance. Their questions are an attempt to build a case against you. Why help them destroy your reputation?
9. As soon as you bond out, contact The Law Office of Jason Nicks
at 409-835-6767 and set up your appointment. We can challenge your
license being suspended with an ALR hearing if we request it before 15
days from the date of arrest.
