Trip Report - DUI

[Poofler]

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Get an attorney. You can beat this easily.

And don't do the sobriety tests, ever.

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This is good advice. I would not be surprised at all if you were able to plea this down.

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so you guys think with a good lawyer I could get it dropped to wreckless driving?

It was my first ever offense / arrest and I'm a pretty upstanding member of the communinty + ex-military.

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We're only getting a brief summary from you, and aren't DUI attorneys. But from what you've said, it sounds like a good attorney, with a reputation and contacts, very well might be able to plea this down for you. I have a friend who blew the same. Being an outstanding member of society probably won't help you much, though prior offenses would hurt you.

[z28dreams]

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I'm always shocked that so many people actualy agree to take the field sobriety test. If there's any chance that you'll be over the limit DON'T BLOW. Let them take you in and use the tester at the police station. Also call a lawyer before you blow, this wastes more time for you to sober up while you wait for him to get there.

It's to late for this though, and it would have saved you a lot of trouble. Now the only thing you can do is hope a lawyer gets you off.

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in colorado, refusal to blow is an automatic 1 year suspension of your license. and there is no way around this.

it''s almost always better to blow here.

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See oddjob - the thing is - if you KNOW you're over, you're going to get a 1year suspension no matter what.

For example, my roommate blew a .22, and accepted to take the test. Because hers was so high, she ended up with some mandatory jail time (like 5 days), and heavier fines. She would definitely have been better off just refusing the test. (btw, her license was suspended for one year as well)

[bwana devil]

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in colorado, refusal to blow is an automatic 1 year suspension of your license. and there is no way around this.

it''s almost always better to blow here.

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im pretty sure that's horrible advice.

in texas it's the same thing. generally there are restrictions on where one can drive during the suspension. in texas you can go to work and school on a suspended license.

[IggyWH]

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Anyone know if you're better off blowing a low number on the real machine, or just refusing flat out?

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I can't answer this, but most states have little known laws that while you might not be .08, they have other various things they can arrest you for having over .04.

[ICE TREY]

step 1: GET A LAWYER
step 2: PLEA DOWN TO A MUCH LESSER CHARGE WHICH WILL BE ALMOST NOTHING IF YOU ARE WILLING TO GO TO REHAB
step 3: SHAVE YOUR HEAD, ESCAPE FROM REHAB, HAVE 5 DRINKS, SPEED, GET PULLED OVER, GO TO STEP 1

[tuq]

BB,

I forgot to mention that a huge mistake was the part where you acknowledged drinking. NEVER do this even if you're so wasted you can't pronounce the word "no". She was probably fishing anyway - it was after midnight, you were presumably heading home from some bar, etc.

I've heard that cops are very good at spotting and smelling booze, but if you had said "no, I just left my office" there was a reasonable if not very good chance the conversation would have ended there.

[ScottieK]

My friend spent a night in the drunk tank for less than this. Had two beers about two hours before he hit a DWI checkpoint. Officer asks if he had anything to drink. "Yeah, about two hours ago." Two drinks to my friend isn't s$%#. Officer gives him the sobriety test, which I couldn't do sober, he fails. Makes him blow... gets a 0.04 after the fourth try (if it's so accurate, why do they make you blow over and over until they get a result they like?) Our limit is 0.08. Gets arrested anyways.

My friend spent a lot of money in lawyer fees and went through a lot of hassle, but it was well worth it. He got off. Suggest you lawyer up, talk to friends and see if you can get a recommendation. They don't come cheap though....think my friend spent $3 grand before it was all over.

Had another friend go through a similar thing... FWIW, never ever admit you've had something to drink. It's an admission to possibly driving while intoxicated, and the cop is required to test you even if you appear completely sober.

In other DWI news, Albuquerque now has a guy who drives around at night looking to phone in drunk drivers to the cops. Not sure how I feel about that.

ScottieK

[Klompy]

OJ,

I think the refusal to blow law is if you refuse to blow at the police station. It's been a while since I read up on the laws, but I think you get something like 2 hours after being pulled over before you're required to blow. Enough time that OP would have been under .08.

[JMa]

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However, I know in my heart of hearts that I didn't "endanger" anyone.

BTW... for all of those that are taking the moral high ground... look in the mirror the next time you go 66mph and remember... you could have killed someone because you were operating a vehicle over the magic number of 65mph.

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are you serious?

[Bicycles_Biatch]

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Get a lawyer and beat this BS. Did you get a blood alcohol test? You should have. Anyway, the fact that the "cop" (lol women police officers) made you blow into the breathalyzer 5 times is going to help you out, I think. This means you blew 4 0.08s and 1 0.09.

And to all those people saying "OP is an idiot and got what he deserved": He passed the sobriety tests, so he wasn't impaired. Having a blood alcohol level of around 0.1 doesn't increase your chances of getting into an accident any more than fiddling with the radio.

You are an idiot for driving 90, though. Good luck.

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Here's the funny thing... I know that the blood tests are way more accurate, so I was contemplating requesting that.

But the CHP officer said that since I had "good lungs and was fairly athletic, the breathe test would work in my favor"... I don't know if this is true or if she was trying to trap.

Also, when they arrested me and put me in handcuffs... I never got read my miranda rights... does this matter? or only in felony cases?