Hey, Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer! What mistakes might a police officer make when arresting me for DUI?

There’s a perception in the public that DUIs are a cut-and-dry, black and white, either you did it or you didn’t affair.  Your Salt Lake City DUI attorney should know that this is not true at all!  Even non DUI lawyers have a tendency to underestimate the complexity of DUI laws and the many things that can go wrong with the police or the prosecutor’s case that can lead to you being wrongfully arrested and convicted of a DUI.

So why are DUIs so much more complex than you might think?  This is true for a couple of reasons.  First, DUIs are complicated because of the politics behind them.  In the last couple of decades there has been an increased focus and vilification of drunk driving which has led to stiffer penalties and looser standards for prosecutors.  Second, despite the constant obsession with the number .08, DUI is inherently subjective.  Many people don’t realize that you don’t necessarily have to be over the .08 limit to be convicted of a DUI.  In a DUI, the question is whether you were impaired beyond the ability to safely operate your vehicle; and this is an inherently subjective question.  What is too much alcohol for one person, might not be for another; likewise, the signs of impairment relied upon by an officer manifest themselves differently depending on the individual.

The complexity of DUIs leaves a lot of room for error by police officers, prosecutors, and courts.  My job as a Salt Lake City DUI lawyer is to make sure that these mistakes don’t go unnoticed, and that they don’t cost you your freedom or your civil rights.  Here’s a list of some of the more common mistakes that police officers can make when arresting you for a DUI:

• Improperly stopping your vehicle in the first place.  An officer has to have a reasonable suspicion that justifies stopping your car in the first place.  If they observe you speeding, for example, they can stop you because you are committing a crime (speeding).  But if they don’t have a reasonable basis for stopping your vehicle, then your Salt Lake City DUI lawyer should try to get all the evidence after that unjustified stop thrown out of court.  There are a ton of ways that an officer might make this mistake simply because he is suspicious of your vehicle, but doesn’t have any articulable reason for stopping you.  For instance, the police can’t stop you based on an anonymous tip.  Or, the police officer stopped you based on observations of your driving pattern that aren’t significant enough to warrant a suspicion of impairment – like a single weave in your lane.
• Stopping your vehicle at an improperly conducted DUI check point.  If you were stopped at a DUI check point, there are certain steps that the officer has to take to avoid infringing your constitutional rights.
• Inability to identify you as the driver of the vehicle or as being in “actual physical control” of the vehicle.  The officer must prove that you were driving at trial in order to convict you.  In certain circumstances, like a DUI resulting from a traffic accident, the officer may not have the evidence he or she needs to accomplish this.
• Improperly detaining you for an extended period.  An officer cannot just hold you and question you for hours on end.  Assuming the officer has a reasonable suspicion to investigate you for a possible DUI,  he or she has to either arrest you or let you go once they’ve done so.  They cannot continue to hold you and ask you questions, hoping that you’ll give them a reason to arrest you.
• Failure to follow the proper procedures for field sobriety testing, portable breath testing, or intoxilyzer testing.  First of all, if you’ve read my previous serious of suggestions from a Salt Lake City DUI lawyer about what to do when you’re pulled over, you know that you should not take the field sobriety tests, or portable breath tests.  Exercise your right to remain silent!  But even if you did take these tests there are a multitude of very specific requirements for administering them that the officer must follow.  It is not uncommon for them to make a mistake that can affect the test results or their interpretation of them.

As you can see, this is just a basic overview.  If you’ve been charged with a DUI, you need to explore the possibility that the officer made a mistake.  Don’t just lie down and plead guilty, get yourself a DUI lawyer in Salt Lake City and protect your rights!

Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer | The eternal question: how much will a DUI in Salt Lake City, Utah cost me?

In this post I’m going to discuss the eternal question: how much your DUI is going to cost you. I will be discussing the cost of fines and surcharges only. I just want to let all of you price shoppers out there know that you won’t see anything about how much any Salt Lake City DUI attorney will charge you for a DUI.  I’m not going to give you this information for two reasons. First, DUI lawyer’s fees vary widely depending on the DUI lawyer, and second they vary widely depending on the facts of your case. It’s just too complicated to include in this post. But as always, call a Salt Lake City DUI Attorney if you are charged with a DUI. My number is (801) 200-3795. I’m available 24/7…literally, you can call anytime.  And I give free initial consultations.

Before I get started, some food for thought: if you followed your Salt Lake City DUI lawyer‘s suggestions about what to do when you get pulled over, then the cost of an attorney, as well as the probability of success will be much, much, much more favorable. Now on to the meat:

Fines and Fees

Let’s assume that your DUI is a first offense, and that it doesn’t involve any “aggravating” factors such as you being under 21, causing an injury, having a minor passenger, etc.  All of those things contribute to stiffer fines and penalties.  Assuming your “basic” DUI in Salt Lake City (or anywhere else in Utah), you’re looking at a Class B Misdemeanor with total fines and fees over $2,000:

• A total fine of about $1,400 which consists of a $700 minimum fine plus a surcharge.
• A $330 Impound fee for your car, there can also be additional fees and taxes added to this fee.
• $250-$450 in processing and tuition fees for DUI education courses that you will have to take.

Opportunity Costs

Now, I’ll be honest with you, I don’t exactly get excited about spending $2,000 dollars out of the blue.  But its not the worst thing in the world.  If you stopped reading here, you might think, “well a DUI is not the end of the world.”  You might even think, gasp, “I probably don’t even need a lawyer for this.”

The real costs of a DUI are not the actual fines.  They come in the form of what I’d call “opportunity costs”.  For instance, there is mandatory jail time (at least 2 days) and driver’s license suspensions (4 months).  This could cost you a lot of money in terms of missed work.  There’s also the extra money that your car insurance will cost you.  And, maybe worst of all, the cost of that black mark on your record when it comes to getting a job, applying for any kind of professional license, etc.

It’s tough to calculate these costs, they all depend on individual situations.  But it’s more than fair to say they will cost you well over $2,000 in the long run.  If you count the lawyer’s fees (assuming you’re smart and you choose to hire a Salt Lake City DUI lawyer), most people will say that a first time DUI will end up costing you $10,000-$20,000.

Personally, I would suggest that you look at a DUI lawyer’s fees as an investment.  That may sound like a biased opinion, but it’s a simple truth that defendants who are represented by DUI attorneys are more likely to end up with lower fines, lesser jail time, or plea bargains to lesser offenses that do not carry the stigma of a DUI.  And, of course, there’s always the possibility that your Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer can get the charges dismissed, or get you acquitted!

Salt Lake DUI Lawyer | What you should do when you get pulled over…(and why). Part IV

This is the final installment of suggestions from a Salt Lake City DUI attorney about what to do when you are pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence.  If you’ve read the previous posts, then you know that the name of the game is to prevent the officer from getting any evidence that can be used against you.  Therefore, you are going to remain silent, and refuse to take field sobriety tests.  In this installment we will continue to discuss the infamous question, “should I refuse to take chemical tests after I’m arrested?”

Unfortunately, your Salt Lake City DUI lawyer‘s advice on this topic is not going to be as straightforward as in previous posts.  The fact of the matter is that whether you choose to submit to chemical tests after being arrested depends a lot on your individual circumstances.  The problem is that if you refuse these tests, your driver’s license may be suspended for 18 months – and that’s a long time to go without driving.  So you’ll have to balance the risk/reward for yourself at the time.  All I can do as a Salt Lake DUI attorney is tell you what the benefits and consequences are.

If you’ve been following along with my suggestions, then you’ve probably figured out that the benefit to refusing to submit to a chemical test is potentially huge.  If the police do not obtain any evidence of your intoxication, then the prosecutor is going to have a very hard time convincing a jury that you were actually DUI.  For instance, if you haven’t allowed them to observe your dexterity when retrieving your license and registration, and you haven’t answered any questions, or taken any tests, then the officer will be unable to offer much credible evidence of your level of intoxication.  They will have almost no evidence other than your driving pattern, your appearance, and perhaps their detection of the smell of alcohol on your breath.

However, if the officer has arrested you, then he at least thinks that he has probable cause.  That does not mean that he does have probable cause, that fact will be left to be argued over between the prosecutor and your Salt Lake City DUI attorney.  But you should be careful, because if he does have probable cause and you refuse the test, he may well end up simply getting a warrant to take a chemical test, which you cannot refuse.  In that case, the officer will end up getting his evidence anyway, plus you’ll look guilty to the jury at trial for refusing the test, and you will be bumming rides from friends for the next 18 months.

Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer | What you should do when you get pulled over…(and why) Part III

This is the third installment of suggestions from a Salt Lake DUI lawyer about what to do when you get pulled over. If you’ve read the first two installments then you know that your Salt Lake City DUI attorney would advise you to first expect that you are going to be arrested and make sure that you give the officer as little evidence as possible to support your charges; and second, that in doing so, you should politely, but firmly, unambiguously, and repeatedly refuse to answer questions or take field sobriety tests, and insist on talking to a DUI attorney in Salt Lake City.  Now for the next step.

Step 5: Refuse to take the Portable Breath Test (PBT)

If you have followed your DUI lawyer’s suggestions up to this point in the stop, the officer is almost guaranteed to try to get you to take a breath test if he thinks you’ve been drinking because he needs some evidence against you and he’s not getting any.  Now, there are two kinds of breath tests.  The first is the Portable Breath Test or “PBT”.  This test will be given before you are arrested and will be used to give the officer probable cause to arrest you, but will generally be inadmissible in court for many reasons such as the machines used for this testing are not officially approved and regularly maintained.  Just as with the field sobriety tests, you are not required to take the PBT.

The other tests are the evidential breath tests.  These tests are done after you are arrested.  Evidential breath tests are done with more accurate machines, and their results are likely to be admissible in court. (Did you know that you can still get a DUI if you are under the .08 limit?  More on that topic another time). Also, there are consequences to your driver’s license status for refusing the evidential breath tests, but we will get to that in the next post.

So step 5 is to refuse to take the PBT.  Just like the field sobriety tests, the officer will not tell you can refuse, he or she will just put something up to your mouth and ask you to blow.  Don’t do it unless you have considered whether you should refuse, no matter how many times he or she asks.

As an aside, I know that you are going to follow your Salt Lake City DUI attorney‘s advice; but if for some reason you decide to take the PBT (or if you’re reading this advice from a Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer after already having been charged with a DUI and you didn’t realize you could refuse), then you should know that the officer actually has to wait for 15 minutes before he administers the test.  The officer is required to remain in your presence and observe you for at least 15 minutes before administering the test to make sure that you don’t put anything in your mouth or vomit or belch because that can skew the test results.  If the officer doesn’t do this, make sure to tell your Salt Lake City DUI lawyer, because those test results may then be inadmissible in court!

Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer | What you should do when you get pulled over…(and why). Part II

This is a continuation of my last post, suggestions from a Salt Lake DUI lawyer about what to do when you get pulled over.

If you’ve read my last post you’ve got the right mental approach.  You know that if the officer suspects you’ve been drinking at all, you’re probably going to get arrested, and you realize that what you do from here on out has a lot to do with how your case will end up.  So, on to the next steps.

Step 2: Have your registration, insurance papers, and license out before the officer gets to your car.

As you know, the officer is already looking for evidence of your intoxication, because he needs probable cause to arrest you. Thus, the name of the game is “don’t give the officer any evidence of your intoxication.”

You don’t want the officer to be able to observe you searching for papers, or pulling out your license with trembling hands. I have been pulled over for speeding several times – it still makes me very nervous.  My hands always tremble, and I always fumble for my license and registration. And it looks like I might be drunk.  If an officer sees that, he can use it as evidence of my intoxication – even if I’m sober as a judge.

Step 3: Be as polite as you possibly can.

As you read on, you will realize that your encounter with the police officer could soon become awkward.  Soon you are probably going to have to say some things to the officer that will make you feel uncomfortable (like “no, I will not consent to taking any field sobriety tests”). The officer might try to intimidate you. Things might get ugly in the next few minutes, so remain as polite as possible because you don’t want to give the officer any reason to scrutinize your behavior or detain you any longer than he already has.

Step 4: Don’t answer questions about how much you’ve had to drink, and don’t take any field sobriety tests!

As I’ve already told you, you are not going to convince the officer that you haven’t had too much to drink, and you are not going to “pass” these “tests”. You are going to fail these tests, no matter what, if the officer thinks you are drunk. They are highly subjective, and the results of the test will end up hurting your case every time. Let me make perfectly clear that despite the way the officer phrases his questions and requests, you are not required to answer questions or to take any field sobriety tests.  You have the right to remain silent. Police officers do this sort of thing for a living, and they know that if they make it clear that you do not have to answer their questions or take their tests, that you’re not going to do it. They know how to make it seem like you have no choice without actually telling you that you have no choice. These questions and field sobriety tests comprise the lion’s share of the officer’s evidence of your intoxication. If the officer doesn’t have that evidence, he’s going to have a very difficult time justifying his arrest.

If the officer asks you for anything other than your name, your license, or your registration, just tell him that you want to speak with your Salt Lake City DUI attorney before answering any questions.

Check back on my Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer blog next time for part three.  We’ll be discussing paying attention to the time, and the officer’s actions, as well as the infamous breathalyzer.

Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer | What to do when the police pull you over…(and why). Part I.

The most common mistake lawyers make with their clients is failure to adequately communicate.  This can be by neglecting to return phone calls, or it can be by failing to explain the law to the client.  Thus, my goal in these next few posts is to explain not only what you should do during a traffic stop, but also how your actions can ultimately affect your case so that you fully understand why you should do what I’m suggesting.

For those of you not currently facing DUI charges, the value of this post is self-explanatory.  But those of you who are in the market for a Salt Lake City DUI attorney, or are already clients of mine, may be thinking “umm…this is something you should have told me before I got pulled over”.  Nevertheless, I assure you that this post will be informative because, whether you handled your police encounter as I suggest, reading on will give you an understanding of how these things affect your DUI case, and why you might have a strong or weak case.

Step One: Change your mental approach.

First off, all traffic stops are not created equal.   Getting pulled over when you’re speeding back to work from your lunch break at 12:30 pm on a Wednesday is not the same as getting pulled over at 12:30 am on Saturday night because you’re “weaving in your lane”.  The difference is that on Wednesday at noon, the cop is pulling you over because you’re speeding.  He isn’t approaching your car thinking you’re drunk.  The cop might just give you a warning.  You might even be able to talk your way out of a ticket.

On Saturday night at 12:30 am, the cop is pulling you over because he thinks you are drunk.  And it is critical that you realize that you are not going to talk yourself out of a DUI.  It is unrealistic to think that you are going to convince the officer you are sober by passing the field sobriety tests with flying colors.  This is true whether or not you have actually been drinking; but it is especially true if you have been drinking, even if you are not “intoxicated” by legal standards.

Thus, a paradigm shift in your thinking is necessary.  The plain fact is this: if you get stopped under circumstances that don’t amount to garden variety speeding or running a red light – for example, if you get stopped for weaving in your lane, or if you get stopped after leaving a bar, or late at night – the officer is already thinking “DUI” before he even gets to your window.  He is already looking for ways to build a case against you.  It is immaterial whether you’re innocent, whether you’re over .08, or whether there’s some explanation for your erratic driving and bloodshot eyes.  You are not going to talk yourself out of a DUI.  If you are pulled over under these circumstances, the truth is that you are probably going to be charged with a DUI.   Your understanding of this fact is crucial because it informs everything you are going to do from that point on during your police encounter.

If I was Liam Neeson in Taken, I would say something like, “now listen very carefully because this next part is very important…they’re going to arrest you”.  I know it’s scary, and harsh, and you don’t want it to happen.  But you have to realize that if you’ve been drinking at all – even a little bit – and the officer figures that out, you are almost certain to be arrested that night.  Thus, the next steps you take are very important because they might determine whether you are able to fight that DUI.

Now that you’ve got the right mental approach, check back at my Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer blog next time to see what steps you should take next if you get pulled over.