Most Common Mistakes You Can Make During A DUI Stop

I’ve been an
Orange County DUI lawyer for nearly 15 years now and I’ve
handled countless DUI cases in the Orange County courts. Having gained an intimate
knowledge of how DUIs are prosecuted and what evidence is most damaging to a DUI defendant, I’ve notices the common mistakes made by
those who have been investigated for, and subsequently arrested for a DUI.
These mistakes include talking too much, volunteering to provide evidence that
will be used to convict them, and refusing to provide evidence when required to
do so by the law.

1)      TALKING TOO MUCH

When someone
is stopped by the police they have absolutely no obligation to answer any
questions the officer asks, short of providing a valid license, registration
and proof-of-insurance. In fact, the 5^th Amendment of the
Constitution specifically guarantees your right NOT to incriminate yourself. So
when a cop stops you and starts asking questions like; where are you going? Where
are you coming from? Have you been drinking tonight? You not only don’t have
any obligation to answer, you have the constitutional right to NOT answer. This
right should absolutely be exercised, especially if you HAVE been drinking. Simply
tell the officer politely that you are exercising your right to remain silent
and NOT answer questions without the help of a DUI Attorney in Orange County. That’s right! Don’t answer these
incriminating questions. Moreover, if you assert that you are remaining silent
as an exercise of your Constitutional rights, then your silence cannot be used
against you at trial later on.

2)      Volunteering Evidence Against You

Any time a
police officer finds out or believes that you have been drinking or taking any
drugs, including prescribed ones, the cop will want you to perform field
sobriety tests  before he can “let
you go on your way”. These tests are VOLUNTARY. That’s right! There is no legal
obligation to take these tests and, if you have been drinking or using any
drugs, you should absolutely decline, politely, to perform these tests without
the presence of your DUI Lawyer. These tests are notoriously
inaccurate. Moreover, a cop will often see what they want to see. If the
officer decides to arrest you for DUI, he will prepare a written report AFTER
that arrest. When he is writing his report—which includes the field sobriety test
results—he will have a natural bias to defend his decision to have arrested
you.

If the
officer has a hand-held breath-testing device, as more and more officers do,
the cop will ask you to take a voluntary breath test. If you are confused about
whether this test is voluntary, you can simply ask. Since there is no legal
obligation to take the test, if would be foolish to do so if you have any
alcohol in your system. Furthermore, if you have consumed alcohol shortly
before a breath test and the alcohol hasn’t fully absorbed into your
bloodstream, the result will probably read falsely high.

3)      Refusing To Provide Lawfully Required
Breath Or Blood Sample

If the
officer does arrest you, as he or she is likely to do if you don’t answer
questions and don’t perform the voluntary field sobriety tests and voluntary
breath test, then the officer will tell, you that you MUST take either a blood
test or a breath test. This is the law, called the “implied consent” law. At
this point you should comply with the law and agree to take a test. Failure to
do so (a refusal) will likely result in jail time and
a prolonged license suspension by the DMV.

If you face
charges for DUI in Orange County, call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro for a free
and confidential telephonic consultation with an experienced Orange County DUI Attorney. You can also learn more about DUIs at www.ejesquire.com. We have offices at 32072
Camino Capistrano, 2^nd floor, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 and at
1901 Newport Blvd., Suite 350, Costa Mesa, CA 92627.