John Brown Arrested For DUI - Read His Story Below

 

myDUIAttorney.org sits down with John Brown,* a professional musician and music teacher, to discuss his experience of being charged with a DUI in Tempe, Arizona.

*Pseudonym used to protect interviewee’s identity.

 

MYD: John, thanks for joining me. When did you get charged with a DUI?

 

JB: I was charged with a DUI in July of ‘08.

 

MYD: And where did it happen?

 

JB: It happened in Tempe, Arizona just south of Broadway, just east of Priest.

 

MYD: Talk me through what happened.

 

JB: I had come out of a rehearsal with some teachers and we went and got a drink over at Casey Moore’s pub in Tempe, and I had a gin and tonic and I had half of a beer, and I stopped drinking because I was feeling it faster than I usually would’ve because I hadn’t eaten dinner, so I stopped drinking and I waited an hour and a half, just drank water and then I went to go meet a friend over in Mesa. On the way over there I went through some neighborhoods, the cop said I rolled through two stop signs so I was pulled over for that, and then almost immediately he started questioning me about drinking, if I had been drinking. I denied that I had been drinking, and he asked me to step out of the car, and said that he could smell it on me and I did go ahead proceed field test and the eye test, and I felt like I nailed the field test but I saw him mark down some things that were just not true on it. One was that I stepped off with my left foot instead of my right foot, something like that, and he gave me the breathalyzer and arrested me there on the spot for DUI. From there I went down to the station, they had me wait for quite a while, they gave me the breathalyzer once, then made me wait another 15-20 minutes and then gave it to me again.

 

And I remember him saying to me on the second test “Ah, that’s what we’re looking for!” and it turned out I blew a .082 apparently on the second test, they didn’t let me see what was on the first one. And they charged me with DUI there on the spot, and I went through the whole process. They released me there, that’s what happened that night.

 

MYD: So I take it you didn’t realize at the time that the field sobriety tests were actually voluntary?

 

JB: That’s correct.

 

MYD: And same with answering any questions?

 

JB: Well I know that just from legal rights and I tried not to answer – I did refuse a lot of questions – but it was difficult, you know.

 

MYD: You wanted to be cooperative…

 

JB: Right, right.

 

MYD: Do you feel like you were treated like a criminal?

 

JB: Well, yeah, I was arrested and handcuffed and finger-printed. Yeah, absolutely.

 

MYD: And was that the first time you’d had a brush with the law?

 

JB: No it wasn’t, I had had a previous brush with the law actually just a few weeks earlier.

 

MYD: Talk me through the legal process. How long after you were arrested did you have to appear in court?

 

JB: It was about a month later I had to go into court and I know that my license was suspended for the 30 day period right after the arrest and I tried to appeal but that was denied immediately. So I waited about a month for the initial hearing, and I requested a lawyer, a public defender, and if I’m not mistaken there was another trial set for a few weeks later. In that time I did get some mailings from different law firms explaining all the rights and exactly what was going to happen. And I thought I was screwed, I was definitely going to get the DUI. You know, I blew a .082, I’m guilty as charged, I know a lot of people that have been convicted of it. From everything that appeared, there was no way I was going to get out of it.

 

I got to my court date and I spoke with my public defender and he very nonchalantly just said as he looked at my case – he looked it over for a minute – he said “OK, this is what we’re going to do. I’m going to ask them to plead down to a reckless driving” because there were also some other charges, the stop signs and I had temporary license plate that was expired by a day or two. So a lot of that stuff was dropped and he’s just going to charge me with the reckless driving, and at that point I was ecstatic! And easily enough, he went in there, and the prosecutors took it and I got away with a reckless driving charge and I plead guilty to that, there was no DUI, and I missed the mandatory ignition lock by a week. If my stop had happened a week later, I would have had the mandatory ignition lock.

 

MYD: So you must’ve been pretty relieved with that result?

 

JB: I was, I was extremely relieved because like I said, I don’t know anyone that’s gotten out of a DUI conviction, even people that had paid a lot for lawyers.

 

MYD: So what were the actual punishments you had to face for a reckless driving conviction?

 

JB: For reckless driving, it was 8 points on my license. The fine all in all ended up being around $1100 or $1200 plus $175 for defensive driving class, and you know the other miscellaneous fees, getting my license reinstated and all that stuff. It was probably around between $1000 and $1500 give or take.

 

MYD: But you didn’t have to do any jail time or community service or alcohol education programs?

 

JB: No, I did avoid that

 

MYD: How many times did you appear in court?

 

JB: Twice

 

MYD: And did you appear at a DMV hearing to appeal your license suspension?

 

JB: I did. Actually there was a third court date where I had to show that I had finished the classes, the driving classes, and that was the final one. So there were actually three in total appearances.

 

MYD: So how long was your license suspended in total, was it until you finished the defensive driving class?

 

JB: Yes, so I believe it was about a month and a half or two months of not having a driver’s license. Then there was the 60 day period of having a restricted driver’s license where I could only be driving to work basically.

 

MYD: What factored into your decision to go with a public defender versus hire a private attorney?

 

JB: Financial situation, I didn’t have any money to hire a private attorney.

 

MYD: You didn’t consider taking out any loans or anything to cover the cost?

 

JB: No, not when the public defender was available right there. And honestly, from what I’d heard from people, hiring an attorney was a waste of money for the DUI cases. That’s just what I heard from some people.

 

MYD: What was your experience with the public defender? Sounds pretty positive given that they were able to reduce your charge?

 

JB: Yeah, actually it was a real blessing. I wasn’t expecting that kind of a result out of a public defender but he was very, seemed like he was on the ball, and was very courteous and professional and understanding. And even though he really didn’t spend that much time with me at all, he got a sense of who I was and what I was doing pretty quickly and tried to help me out.

 

MYD: So you felt like he had your best interest at heart, you weren’t just another case that he was trying to get off his caseload?

 

JB: I did.

 

MYD: If you had to do it again, you wouldn’t change your decision not to hire a private attorney?

 

JB: Um, it probably depends on the conditions of the case. Because I knew that my breathalyzer was very close and I did some research on my own and I realized where there were a lot of cases being thrown out even here in Arizona, more in Tucson than in Phoenix, based on the calibration of those breathalyzers that if you raise a stink about it they could be contested. So, you know, if I was in better financial situations I probably would have asked around for and hired a good attorney. Especially after I researched into that and found out that there actually was some wiggle room, especially with where my breathalyzer was.

 

MYD: Absolutely. How much do you estimate the DUI cost you over all in terms of lost time at work or paying fees.

 

JB: Ah man, there were actually a lot of ripple effects from it that happened. There were issues with me paying off my fine, because I don’t make a lot of money and my income is very inconsistent. And so, there were actually a lot of repercussions, more on my part but due to the heavy financial burden that it created. So when I missed payments, warrants went out for me, and I had to deal with that, and it created a whole butterfly effect of legal troubles that I’ve just gotten resolved here recently.

 

MYD: So it’s taken around two years for you to be able to pretty much put the whole thing behind you?

 

JB: Yeah.

 

MYD: So how did affect your personal life?

 

JB: Well I avoid drinking and driving at all costs now. It affected my personal life in a lot of ways. For one, not being able to drive to places for a spell. Just a lot of the stress, the mental stress that it takes knowing that that’s coming up, and dealing with that, and mainly financially just having to make those payments, and pay for the classes and all of these little things that add up to a lot, can become quite a financial duress depending on your financial situation. I really feel that it is a penalty that affects the poor much more greatly than anybody else.

 

MYD: How did it affect your insurance premiums?

 

JB: Yeah, that’s another financial thing. It’s gone up probably 40%.

 

MYD: How long does it stay on your record, reckless driving?

 

JB: I believe it’s 7 years. And another effect was that I was denied a fingerprint clearance card for education right after it had happened, so I actually lost a job that I was going to get because of the arrest that happened.

 

MYD: Regardless of whether you were convicted or not?

 

JB: Right.

 

MYD: Do you think in general that the punishments are too severe, too lax or just right?

 

JB: That’s a tricky question because, you know, it is very dangerous to be out on the road drunk driving. I think the rate of punishment to the degree of what it is for the lower levels, the zero tolerance perspective, is pretty harmful to people. The financial burden that it places on people. The fact that you don’t have the means to get around in this city in particular makes it almost impossible to work in Phoenix, if you don’t have your own vehicle. So I would say that they’re a little too harsh on the lower levels.

 

On the higher levels I think they’re actually pretty equivalent with what goes on around the rest of the country, and I know in other countries there’s even harsher penalties. But I think, especially at the lower levels, and that’s where most of the cases live anyways, is between that level one DUI before it becomes aggravated. I think that level one DUI is a very harsh punishment that really ruins and wrecks people’s lives. It doesn’t need to be that harsh, I think the message would get across without having to ruin people’s lives.

 

MYD: Do you think the focus is more on punishment versus rehabilitation?

 

JB: Yeah.. yeah, I would say so. The rehabilitation part from what I’ve observed is pretty negligible, it’s pretty marginal.

 

MYD: People do their classes, and get their license back, then go off and do it again?

 

JB: Um yeah, I do know a couple of people who have gotten a second one, so.. I don’t know. It’s hard for me to say what’s fair and what’s not fair. I just know that the punishments, I felt, criminalize people far beyond what they are doing.

 

MYD: It sounds like you had one drink, a strong-ish drink, and half a beer and then waited an hour a half. Were you surprised that you were over the limit?

 

JB: I was really surprised. Yeah, because, like I said, I waited the approximate time that they say to, and I felt normal and I don’t know, I was very surprised.

 

MYD: What advice do you have for people in your age group, who are social drinkers, frequently go to the bar, drink, and then drive home?

 

JB: I would advise to go ahead and spend that money on a cab if you’re local, or use the light rail or bus when you can. And use the cab services with the next day return service is real valuable, that’s a good way to approach it, or bicycle. Try to avoid drinking and driving, absolutely. I do not condone drinking and driving by any means. And I tell that to friends in any given situation, and I try to avoid it myself in every chance I get. Because if you’re with two or three friends, for the price of one more round of drinks, you can get that cab ride, you know, depending on where you’re going, where you’re coming from.

 

MYD: What lessons have you yourself learned from this whole situation?

 

JB: For one, don’t do the field sobrietys or the eye test, don’t answer any questions. And also obviously don’t risk drinking and driving at any level. No matter how sober you think you are, you never know what your breathalyzer’s going to pop up with. And just to be more aware of driving and especially during those hours at night. I’ve become more aware of my driving in general through the traffic classes that I’ve done, and just knowing the penalties that are associated with traffic violations in Arizona.

 

MYD: What have you learned in particular about Arizona law?

 

JB: That it has a long and swift arm (laughs). I was lucky that my public defender put me in the situation he did, because they do prosecute to the full extent and the fines and fees that are levied on people are ridiculous. For one, the surcharges on all traffic tickets and violations are at least 50% if not more than the fine itself. So if they say it’s a $500 fine you’re actually going to be paying over $1000. You realize that in Arizona, the legal system, and the penal system and the corrections system is a private enterprise that’s facilitated by the government. And you really quickly start to recognize that they’re just trying to squeeze you, squeeze the population here. They’re using the law to squeeze money out of citizens, and so I try not to give them that opportunity (laughs).

 

MYD: So would you drink and drive again?

 

JB: No, no. Like I said, I avoid it all costs. I ride my bike a lot, I live here in Tempe, I can’t lie and say that I haven’t had a drink and then gotten in the car, but I’m very aware of it, I’m very conscious of the time elapsed, that I’m doing it, everything that’s involved. Also, if I know I have to drive, I’ll stick just to beers, because with a mixed drink, they’re not just giving you an ounce of alcohol every time. And I think that was part of it, that they mixed me a really stiff drink, that one drink that I had was more than I expected.

 

MYD: That leads onto my next question. How much responsibility do you think bars and bartenders have to prevent people from getting in their cars when they shouldn’t be?

 

JB: That’s a good question. It’s kind of a paradox isn’t it? These establishments are making a profit people drinking, and the more that they drink the more money they make so it’s against their best interest profit-wise to stop people from drinking and with the laws, honestly, if you know that someone drove there, you would basically only be able to give them one ounce of hard liquor, or the measure amounts, per hour. Haha! Now imagine if you really stuck to those regulations, that would cut considerably into the profits so… It’s hard, it’s a very relative situation. I think businesses should be responsible and liable for that stuff but at the same time, they’re not legally to some extent. They are obviously to the point of somebody – I don’t know the ins and outs of the statutes and everything – but I do know that if somebody is intoxicated and has gotten behind the wheel and they tell them the bar that they came from served them past their legal limit, then I know places that have been shut down because of that. And as a professional musician, I don’t like to see any of these establishments get shut down because that’s a loss of work for me. But I think there should be some consideration. I think there are ways the establishments could help control the situation, especially at the end of the night, not giving that person that one last drink before close. I don’t know, that’s a tough question, that’s a real hard question to answer. And where are you supposed to draw the line of responsibility when you’re in a place where the business is erasing the lines of judgments? (Laughs). That’s the essence of going to a bar is to escape that mode of thinking. But ultimately, at this point, the reality of it is, it is up to the individual no matter what I think. It is up to the individual to know where their limits are and make the right decisions.

 

MYD: Any final thoughts?

 

JB: I think it’s important to know your rights in all situations dealing with the law. I think that’s vital. Because if you know your rights you can avoid a lot of trouble, if you just know proper things to do.