Feel I had a wrongful DUI. Help!?

Question

After taking my 18 year old little sister out for the first time i had to pick up my boyfriend at a friends house. I had about three beers in two hours and a glass and a half of wine 6 hours before I was "Pulled Over" by a cop.

I did not feel impaired and nor would i get drunk looking after my little sister that night. I pulled into our friends house and was calling my boyfriend. My little sister said their was a car behind us. I recognized the bright light as a cops light. Note: he did NOT pull me over NOR did he have his flashing lights on.
He came up to my window, asked me a few questions and wanted me to do a field sobriety test. I passed those just fine. Also note he would not tell me why he came up to my window. He said he had suspicion because i was driving to slow in the neighbor hood. Yea! it was 2:30am at night and i just pulled into my friends house that was on the corner a block into the neighborhood.
After i passed those he had be do a Breathalyzer. He informed me if i refused i would go to jail and loose my license for a year.
He had me blow THREE times into the dang thing because i only have 2/3rds of my lung function which I can get a note from my doctor to prove!
I blew a .010 i think. A few above the .08 because i JUST had 3 beers in a two hour period at the bar. With that being said...would this effect my count? Blowing into it three times!?
He then informed be i blew over the legal limit and i was being arrested for a DUI. He did not give me a ticket when this happened. I had the handcuffs put on me and put in the police car. No ticket! i did not get the ticked until after i left jail. The ticket said "dui and no insurance" well he didn't even ask for my insurance. I didn't get the DUI ticket until after.
I want to file a Motion to Suppress. Is this a good idea? I feel this is wrong on so many levels! AND they still had my car towed out of my friends drive way!
Please help! advise! past experience! anything!

Answer 1

I'll go through and address each of your concerns in the order you mentioned them....



The fact you didn't feel impaired is not an issue, as the state law is .08 regardless of your personal opinion of your impairment. As a general rule, one drink raises your alcohol level .02, and your body processes one drink per hour. The wine should be out of your system after 6 hours, and three beers in two hours would be about .06.



The purpose of the officer's lights is to get you to pull over. If you are already stopped, they are not necessary. Most officers won't use them in that situation because they attract attention.



You said you passed field sobriety. I don't know how to comment on that because there is no pass or fail. There is a series of indicators. the more indicators you have, the more likely you are impaired. I can tell you this...most people think they do good when in fact they do poorly.



The burden of proof required to make contact with you is "reasonable suspicion". Driving slow in a residential neighborhood is suspicious. It will be up to the judge to decide if it was reasonable. This is probably your most valid argument, as if you can get the reason for the stop tossed, all the evidence after will be inadmissible.



The breath machine is designed to allow a certain amount of air to pass before it takes the sample. The breath test given on the street only requires one adequate sample, but the one in the station requires two samples. Those two are compared for accuracy. Blowing 3 times is not unusual.



There is no legal requirement to give you the ticket right away. Giving it to you at the jail is acceptable.



My guess is he checked his police computer to see if you had insurance. If you do have it, show it in court and that ticket will get dismissed.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

You need a lawyer specializing in DWI/DUI offenses. A mistake defending yourself on the charges could mean big trouble for you.



As far as your account of the situation goes ... the officer seems to have done a pretty good job! They had probable cause to stop you. They affected the stop in a safe manner by letting you pull into a driveway. Performed sobriety tests (no pass/fail grade on these ... just what the officer observes). Then had you take a breathalyzer test. When the results came back "over the limit" they took you to jail! Securing your vehicle in the impound was a nice touch ... kept your belongings safe. If you had valid insurance on that day ... take proof to court!



You are probably going to be convicted on the DUI charge ... I'd start lining up rides to places you need to go now.

Answer 4

(1) his "traffic stop" was "legal" because he doesnt have to actually "pull you over" all he has to do is approach you. If he sees you driving slowly (slower than normal) that is probable cause to stop on suspicion of strange behavior / DUI. He also doesnt have to have his overhead lights on. If you stop you stop, end of story.



(2) Who cares how many times you had to blow. Guess what, if you give an insufficent sample (the machine tells him when it is sufficient) then you have to try again. And, like baseball, if you fail to give a sufficient sample 3 times, you are out. And it is considered a refusal in most places.



(3) a Dr note has no bearing on it because he isnt going to wait a few days for you to provide one (booze will be out of your system by then). You didnt have it on you, end of story.



(4) you *just* had the beers right before you drove, by your own admission. He did nothing wrong. You did.



(5) each time you blow into the machine, and stop, the results are cleared. So it doesnt matter if you blow once or 50 times, it will get an answer for each one.



(6) if he approached your vehicle and smelled the booze (and I think you mean a .10, not a .01) (which yes, you can smell a .10 worth of booze on someones breath, as well as notice a nystagmus (google it), that gave him probable cause to have you do the FST's and breathalizer.



(7) he didnt have to ask for insurance....when he ran your plates, it would have told him if you had insurance or not. Your little insurance card thing isn't proof of insurance.



(8) "I didnt feel impaired at all".....famous last words. Just saying. Most people feel just fine before they drive drunk. Doesnt mean they aint drunk.

And I know you will probably report this, and I know you will lash out at me calling me a fascist or whatever, I dont care. You wont like my answer, so lets see what crap you can say about it...

Answer 5

You "didn't feel impaired." Guess what? That's the norm for drunk drivers.



Whether he pulled you over is totally irrelevant. Whether the flashing lights were on is totally irrelevant.



You contradict yourself repeatedly in the telling. You had the beers six hours before, but you JUST had them. He would not tell you why he stopped you, but in the very next sentence you tell us the reason he gave you.



Blowing three times would NOT affect the result.



The only thing here "wrong on so many levels" is you driving your younger sister while drunk. Oh, that ant whining about it here.

Answer 6

One "standard drink" raises a person's BAC by about .02%. The body eliminates alcohol from your system at the rate of about .02% per hour.



So, if you had a half a glass of wine six hours ago, that is gone from your system entirely.



If you had three bottles of regular beer, your BAC would be at about .06%. The two hours would reduce that to .02%, give or take.



If you blew a .10, (over the "legal limit"), then you had a lot more to drink than you listed here.



If you really had to drink what you said, then it's much more likely you blew a .01%, which is not impaired at all.

Answer 7

You blew number and are under 21, which means you were driving under the influence (the .08 rule is only for legal drinkers, if you're a minor any alcohol will get you a DUI). So I would get a lawyer if I were you or your future is gonna be in trouble.

Answer 8

Yea, let me know how that clown act plays out in the courtroom..........



Another intelligent product of our failed school systems......