OOT lawyers:drinking and driving question

[DrewDevil]

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haha noah, are you saying if you had 1 beer over the course of 2 hours you'd refuse a breathalyser and take the suspended license?

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OK, well if it was one beer then I would, but a girl having had four beers in a couple hours, theres no point in cutting it close.

if you think the chance of you failing is greater than 10%, then i wouldn't do it. without a breathalyzer, or you literally be falling down drunk, they have no real evidence against you. if you fail one, you can argue that they aren't reliable, but its a much tougher sell.



FFK,

whoops. still applies to the other 20 drunk driving threads that have been on here.



also, yeah never admit to having had any alcohol. people always think that being up front will get you out of trouble, and while this may be true in some cases (traffic tickets) its generally a pretty bad rule to follow. just keep your mouth shut.

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In NJ, the penalties for refusing a breathalyzer are roughly the same as if you had failed it and received a DUI. This includes a suspension of your license for what I believe to be 6 months for your first offense, and two years for your second, as well as thousands of dollars in fines. The last time I went to traffic court, I overheard a lawyer saying to his client that if there is any chance that you could pass a breathalyzer, then you should take it. This makes sense since the penalties for DUI and refusing a breathalyzer are similar.

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You left out the part about the DUI being a criminal conviction, which makes it infinitely worse than the suspension of a driver's license. That lawyer was an idiot.

If there is any chance you are over the limit, refuse the breathalyzer, period. If you are definitely under it, then take it.

[DrewDevil]

Also, when the cop asks you to recite the alphabet backwards, that is not the actual test. The response the cop is looking for is: "The alphabet backwards? I can't even do that sober---oops."

[XXXNoahXXX]

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You left out the part about the DUI being a criminal conviction, which makes it infinitely worse than the suspension of a driver's license. That lawyer was an idiot.

If there is any chance you are over the limit, refuse the breathalyzer, period. If you are definitely under it, then take it.

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I know someone who got arrested for possession and he was telling me he was going to plead guilty instead of doing pretrial intervention because then he would have to pay $200 instead of doing 10 hours community service, which he didn't want to do. I tried to convince him that it wasn't worth going on his record and thats like $20/hr to not do the community service, but he wouldn't listen.

[XXXNoahXXX]

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Also, when the cop asks you to recite the alphabet backwards, that is not the actual test. The response the cop is looking for is: "The alphabet backwards? I can't even do that sober---oops."

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Say you refuse the breathalyzer, what do people think of taking a cell phone video of yourself?

Video of yourself saying something like "I was just arrested for DUI, however I am completely sober and coherent...."

I'm assuming this is just dumb?

[guids]

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they can't charge her after the fact with DUI. if you're going to fight it you should just send a lawyer anyway, and he can handle that question no problem. most of the time when they fight a ticket like this, the lawyer just sends a bunch of motions and it gets dismissed without going to arguments, if i understand it correctly.

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LOL at the suggestion of retaining a lawyer to fight a $160 traffic ticket!

She'll have paid more for the lawyer by the time he parks his car at the courthouse than she would have paid for the ticket, including the stamp to mail it.

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are you one of those idiots that drive without insurance?




just hire a cheap lawyer that specializes in traffic stuff, it will be 70 to 100 for teh lawyer, and 150 or so in court costs/fine for non-speeding violatio, but you wont get any points. its a real racket though as 99% of the time, the lawyer just writes a letter to the prosecurter or the judge and its a reall wink wink nudge nudge thing and it taken care of before the trial even starts.

[DrewDevil]

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Also, when the cop asks you to recite the alphabet backwards, that is not the actual test. The response the cop is looking for is: "The alphabet backwards? I can't even do that sober---oops."

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Say you refuse the breathalyzer, what do people think of taking a cell phone video of yourself?

Video of yourself saying something like "I was just arrested for DUI, however I am completely sober and coherent...."

I'm assuming this is just dumb?

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If you're drunk, this is horribly dumb, because it will be admissible against you.

If you're drunk and stopped for DUI, you should refuse every request and basically say nothing. Put your head down in your hands and do not respond to anything. Let them arrest you and haul you downtown and do not say anything except "I want to call my lawyer."

[z28dreams]

Drew,

What do you think the best course of action is if you think you are VERY on the edge - had maybe 2-3 beers, and you're likely to blow anywhere from .07-.09.

First, I imagine when asked if I've been drinking, the answer is always "no" no matter what. This at least gives me a chance to get off completely clean, as I don't believe there's any real penalty to lying to a cop on the spot like that.

Obviously if you know you are going to pass, just blow, and if you know you are way over, just refuse the test.

I feel like I'd hate to refuse the test and lose my license for a year if there was a 75% chance I'd pass the test, you know?

[DrewDevil]

If there is any doubt, refuse the test. You want to avoid a DUI conviction at all costs, and a positive breathalyzer test leaves few options for your lawyer.

And at least in Texas, you can pretty easily get an "occupational license" that allows you to drive to and from work/school, so it's not like you're house bound for a year.

[MuresanForMVP]

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She explains that she didn't think she would be able to safely break and time

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omg please tell me this is not a typo (both parts)

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I was pretty drunk last night, and it kinda sounded like "in time" blah blah

[miajag]

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Yea my dad's a lawyer at the state's attorneys office but 1).this didn't seem appropriate to ask his professional opinion as it's fairly small

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Why on Earth would you not want to ask him for advice about this? You have a great source of free legal advice and you're asking OOT instead?

Also, wrt to hiring a lawyer to defend a $160 ticket, people do that all the time; it can easily be worth it if there's a risk of getting points on your license that'll bump up your insurance.