{"id":298,"date":"2022-07-28T07:00:26","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T12:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/?p=298"},"modified":"2022-07-28T07:00:26","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T12:00:26","slug":"what-should-i-do-if-i-get-pulled-over-after-drinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/what-should-i-do-if-i-get-pulled-over-after-drinking\/","title":{"rendered":"What should I do if I get pulled over after drinking?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Is Practical Advice From Lawyers, Not To Be Construed As Legal Advice From Lawyers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What should I not <\/i>do if I get pulled over after drinking?<\/b><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be a jerk.
\n<\/b>Be polite. Simple advice but comply with the officer\u2019s requests. More than likely you\u2019ll be asked for your license and registration. Keep your hands visible. Don\u2019t guess at why the officer pulled you over in the first place. It\u2019s common (and they\u2019re trained) to ask you \u201cDo you know why I pulled you over?\u201d You don\u2019t.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t say I\u2019ve had \u201ca couple\u201d of drinks.
\n<\/b>This may be the most common answer in an exchange that goes something like this:<\/span><\/p>\n

Officer: Have you had anything to drink tonight?<\/p>\n

You: Yes<\/p>\n

Officer: How much have you had to drink?<\/p>\n

You:\u00a0 <\/span>A couple of beers\/seltzers\/drinks\/etc.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no obligation to provide evidence against yourself. Usually if the officer is asking, it\u2019s because he \u201csmells the odor of alcohol\u201d or it\u2019s late night. Unless you\u2019re sure you haven\u2019t been drinking (you\u2019d know), don\u2019t provide the number of drinks; definitely don\u2019t guess at it; and saying \u201ca couple\u201d won\u2019t improve anything. Respectfully decline.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t do the field sobriety tests.
\n<\/b>If the officer asks you to step out of the car, do that. The police have the right to ask and you should comply with their request. But once you\u2019re out of the car, there\u2019s zero obligation (and no penalty for) declining to participate in roadside field sobriety tests. The \u201cstandardized\u201d field sobriety tests (SFSTs) include the horizontal gaze nystagmus (think: stimulus moving across your eyes); one leg stand (self explanatory); and the walk and turn (9 heel to toe steps one way and back). Truthfully some of these coordination tests can be difficult in perfect lighting and on a flat surface. As you might imagine, that\u2019s vastly different than the conditions you\u2019d be facing on the side of the road as cars whiz by and your adrenaline is pumping.\u00a0 <\/span>If asked to do these tests, respectfully decline. No reason to help the police compile evidence against you.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t do the preliminary breath test (PBT).
\n<\/span><\/b>Putting aside whether the officer has enough probable cause (the legal standard for a \u201csearch\u201d which a PBT is) to make the request, the penalty for declining is a civil infraction, i.e., a ticket like one you\u2019d get for speeding along with a fine.\u00a0<\/span> <\/b>While PBTs are generally not admissible in court, they alone <\/i>can be the basis for the officer to arrest you. MCL 257.625a. If you think to yourself: \u201cI just absolutely nailed those SFSTs and I\u2019m about to get out of here.\u201d Hold right there. First, why did you do the SFSTs in the first place. Second, even if that\u2019s true, a PBT result of 0.08 or higher and you\u2019re not going anywhere other than the backseat of the police car with cuffs on. Respectfully decline the PBT. No reason to help the police build the criminal case against you.<\/p>\n

(Probably) Do the requested breath or blood test.
\n<\/b>This is different than the PBT. Should the officer choose to arrest you, despite all of the legally savvy decisions you\u2019ve made to this point, you\u2019ll be asked to consent to a breath test or a blood draw (urine can also be requested but that\u2019s not typical). Before this request\u2014and this is how you\u2019ll know this is the one test you\u2019ll probably want to consent to\u2014the officer will read your \u201cchemical test rights.\u201d Michigan is an implied-consent state. That means you\u2019ve already given consent (said \u201cyes\u201d) to the officer\u2019s request for a breath or blood test simply by being on the road. So if\u00a0 <\/span>you\u2019re read your \u201cchemical test rights\u201d and you refuse (say \u201cno\u201d) there\u2019s an automatic<\/i> license sanction: Your driver license is suspended for a full year based on refusing to consent (say \u201cyes\u201d) to the breath test or blood draw. This is all stuff that is covered in the \u201cchemical test rights.\u201d The reason you\u2019d probably want to agree to this test is because the one-year license suspension is much longer and more punitive than most license sanctions that follow a drunk driving conviction. On balance, and practically speaking, for. most first-time drunk drivers, this one-year implied-consent license suspension is worse than anything else that may come as a result of a drunk driving conviction. Let your lawyer\u00a0 <\/span>worry about whether the test results are admissible against you later.<\/p>\n

Do find and hire a good lawyer. Do it right away.
\n<\/b>You\u2019re typically released from custody (think: jail) not long after a drunk driving arrest; typically the next morning. But the drunk driving charges don\u2019t always immediately follow. This is especially true if the police choose to ask for a blood draw\u2014which is much more typical request these days. Those results likely won\u2019t come back for a few weeks, and most prosecutors want to make sure they know what your blood alcohol level is before charging you with anything.<\/p>\n

Even though the state may delay things, you shouldn\u2019t. Reach out and find a lawyer to help right away. Why? Because there may be evidence out there that is time sensitive and won\u2019t be available if you wait until you\u2019re charged. For example, if you think that some surveillance footage from a store might be helpful, that is usually gone within days or a week. Your lawyer may be able to identify evidence out there right away and send preservation requests to save the stuff that\u2019s out there which may be favorable <\/i>to your defense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do meet your lawyer and ask questions.
\n<\/b>It\u2019s important that you hire a competent lawyer, i.e. someone who knows what they\u2019re doing. How? Start by meeting and talking to a lawyer before you hire them. Talk to more than one lawyer. Drunk driving can impact not only your driver license but have consequences on immigration status and your job (in particular, if you hold professional licenses).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been charged with drunk driving (OWI as Michigan calls it), feel free to contact our office at (616) 965-2621 or contact@zamzowfabian.com to set up a time to meet and discuss your case. We never charge for this initial meeting (lawyer word: consultation). And we encourage you to ask questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Is Practical Advice From Lawyers, Not To Be Construed As Legal Advice From Lawyers. What should I not do if I get pulled over after drinking? Don\u2019t be a jerk. Be polite. Simple advice but comply with the officer\u2019s requests. More than likely you\u2019ll be asked for your license and registration. Keep your hands […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-larticles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299,"href":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298\/revisions\/299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zamzowfabian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}