You have a right to remain silent, so use it!

It’s Friday night. You had a good time at a dinner party at some friend’s house. You only had one drink all evening, but that was three hours ago. You figured that it’s safe to drive home. Ten minutes on the road, you saw siren flashing behind you. You carefully pulled over onto the shoulder. “License and registration, please SIR!” Obviously, you were nervous as you wondered what you did wrong. You looked at several places and couldn’t find it. The impatient officer asked, “SIR! Did you have anything to drink this evening?” While you are still looking for your license in the dark and off the side of the road, the officer asked you to step out of the vehicle. He proceeded to ask you a few more questions about where you were and what if anything you had consumed.

From the moment the police approaches you, the main objective is typically to try to collect evidence against you so that it can be used later to prosecute you. DO NOT help them to make a case against yourself. What kind of defense you have may depend on how you handle yourself in front of the police and the statements you make. Even if you are completely innocent, just remember: LESS IS MORE!

You can politely give them your name (unless you have an outstanding warrant. But that would be another blog post for another day). Don’t flunk the attitude test. Be respectful but decline to make any statements or consent to a search. You should also decline to take the field sobriety test. Unlike the chemical test such as the breath test, you are not required to participate in the field sobriety test. There are no legal consequences if you refuse to take this test. But if you took the test, you are giving the prosecutor more circumstantial evidence to prove that you were legally drunk.

So, next time if you are stopped at the roadside and don’t know what to do, contact our DUI Roadside Assistance/Hotline for a free consultation. (202) 452-5900.