5 Common DUI Myths Debunked

 

1. MYTH: If I am found guilty of a DUI/DWI, I am going to have to face the full punishment outlined by my state’s law.

 

REALITY: While it is true that there are statutory minimum punishments, these vary by county, not by state, so you need to check with the county in which your arrest took place what those minimums are. You can do this by visiting the county’s web site, or calling the county sheriff’s office.

 

Most people assume incorrectly that if they are found guilty of a DUI, they will automatically have to face the full punishments as outlined by the law of the county in which they were arrested. This is rarely the case for defendants who hire an experienced DUI attorney. Why? Because an experienced DUI/DWI attorney will be able to review your case and will be able to find any major weaknesses with the prosecution’s case against you, or may be able to poke lots of smaller holes in it. In some cases, a successful attorney may even be able to get the case entirely dismissed, if for example, they find that the police officer did not have legitimate grounds to pull you over in the first place, or there were errors in the administering of your roadside sobriety tests, or mishandling of your blood sample.

 

A good attorney will first of all look for the major holes to try to get the case dismissed altogether, then if this doesn’t seem likely, they will search for lots of minor holes that will convince the District Attorney’s office that they may not be able to win the case at trial. This encourages the DA to settle the case with what is known as a “plea bargain” or “plea agreement”. In this case, the defendant pleads guilty to fewer or lesser charges, and a result, will not have to endure the maximum number of punishments.

 

This could mean the difference between keeping your license on a restricted basis versus completely relinquishing it, doing community service or attending alcohol education classes instead of doing jail time, paying less fines, or having a lesser offence such as Reckless Driving on your record instead of a DUI, which has major implications for both your criminal record and licensing in the eyes of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

 

2. MYTH: I want to fight my DUI charge, so I’m going to have to proceed with a trial by jury to do so.

 

REALITY: Less than 10% of DUI cases end up being tried in court with a jury present.

 

By hiring an experienced DUI attorney, you will save yourself the expense, headache, and uncertainties involved with going to trial. How? Because as explained above, an experienced attorney will be able to negotiate the best possible outcome for you before the case gets to trial. An aggressive lawyer will prepare the case as if it were going to trial, assuming it has enough merit, and by doing so will encourage the District Attorney to plea bargain the case down to a lesser offence, or be willing to forgo some of the punishments in return for a “guilty” or “no-contest” plea.

 

In some states such as Nevada and Hawaii, misdemeanor DUI offenders do not have the right to trial by jury, so this is not even an option.

 

3. MYTH: The punishments for being caught driving while under the influence of an illegal or legal drug are not as serious as being caught driving above the legal limit for alcohol.

 

It depends on the county and the drug in question. However, you should assume that the penalty for being found guilty of driving under the influence of any substance, be it an over the counter cough medicine, a prescription painkiller, tranquilizer or sleep aid, or an illegal narcotic or recreational drug will be just as severe, if not more so, than being found with a blood alcohol level of .08 or above.

 

Some states, like Nevada, have a zero tolerance driving policy toward marijuana. So even if you used marijuana two weeks before being pulled over, arrested, and blood tested, you can still be found guilty of driving under the influence of marijuana, because of the trace amounts of the drug that will be found in your blood. Ironically, the legal limits for driving under the influence of LSD, heroin, and PCP in Nevada are so high that the person would actually be dead if they ingested the “legal” amount to drive with in their system.

 

These inconsistencies and anachronisms in the law make it essential for you to exercise extreme caution when driving after consuming a mind-altering substance, and if you do face a charge, be sure to hire an experienced lawyer who will be best prepared to fight your case and get you off with the minimum consequences possible.

 

4. MYTH: I should hire the first attorney I speak with to handle my DUI/DWI case.

 

REALITY: While it is human nature to panic when faced with a highly stressful situation such as being arrested for and/or charged with a DUI/DWI, it is very important to remain calm and not hire the first attorney you speak to as a knee-jerk reaction to being charged, or because you have been given 20-30 minutes to speak to a lawyer before giving a blood/breath test at the station.

 

There are literally thousands of lawyers available in every major metropolis that have some experience, or exclusively specialize, in handling DUI cases. Therefore, there is absolutely no reason to settle for the first attorney you speak to, although after researching a number of attorneys you may decide they are the best fit for you. While we do not recommend overdoing your research, comparing five or so attorneys is normally enough, you do want to get a handle on each lawyers’ experience in terms of years and cases, how successful they have been in getting charges reduced, whether they are good communicators (easy to reach by phone and good at explaining the charges and possible outcomes to you), and simply feeling at ease with the attorney, and confident that they have your best interest at heart.

 

Fees are also an important factor to consider. You should absolutely not settle for the cheapest attorney if you happen to be budget constrained. Their low fee could be a reflection of their success rate or volume of cases they take on, and so hiring a cheaper attorney could end up costing you dearly in the long run because they are not as adept at getting your charges and punishments reduced. On the flipside, simply because an attorney charges a high fee, does not necessarily mean they are very successful. The best thing to do is ask anyone you know locally who has gone through a DUI who represented them, what the outcome of their case was, and whether they were happy overall with their attorney. Then, visit sites like Avvo.com to read lawyer reviews and ratings.

 

Most importantly, interview your attorney as if you were interviewing someone for a job. Again, you don’t need to go overboard, but you do need to ask them enough questions to get a sense of who they are, how well they will represent you, and if you feel comfortable or not with them. After all, they will be your Shepard through possibly the most stressful thing you have ever had to deal with, so you want to be able to get in touch with them as needed, and ensure they will be handling all aspects of your case, rather than handing it off to lower-level associates. The latter of which has unfortunately become a common industry practice.

 

5. MYTH: I should be as cooperative with the police officer as possible after he pulls me over and back at the station after being arrested for or on suspicion of a DUI/DWI.

 

REALITY: Yes, you should be cooperative with the officer, but you should also know what you are legally obligated and not obligated to do. The officer is not obligated to tell you what your rights are when he first pulls you over, and many people fall into the trap of going along with the officer because they believe he has their best interest at heart. Wrong! The officer is there to build a case against you, and is certainly not your friend.

 

You’ve heard the phrase a million times on TV and in movies, and that phrase is actually 100% accurate: “You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law”. The officer only has to read you what is known as your Miranda rights while he is arresting you, but the same right applies to before you have been arrested. So when an officer first pulls you over, he is looking to establish probable cause that you have been drinking or using drugs, in order to arrest you. He will therefore ask you questions about where you have been, where you are going, whether you have been drinking or have taken any substances that could have affected your driving. You DO NOT need to answer these questions, rather you should politely decline. The only thing you are legally obligated to do is show your license, registration and proof of insurance, and get out of the car if he asks you to.

 

If the officer does ask you to step outside of the car, the next thing he will likely ask you is if you will perform some roadside sobriety tests. These are 100% voluntary and even if you have not been drinking you should not agree to perform the tests because they can lead to false positives. If you have been drinking, doing the tests can only further serve the officer’s goal of building a case against you. So, don’t do the tests!

 

The roadside breath test that the officer asks you to take is also 100% voluntary. If you have even had one or two drinks, or consumed something with alcohol in it, such as cough syrup, you should decline to do the roadside breath test. Why? Because again, this test is voluntary and there are a lot of factors which can lead to false positives. People with certain mouth or gastro-intestinal conditions for example may have a greater concentration of mouth alcohol than those that do not. These portable tests have been shown to have a large margin or error, which is why their results are not admissible in court. However, they can be used to ascertain probable cause for arrest, and once you are back at the station, you will have to give a blood or stationary breath test or face losing your license for as much as a year (depending on the state).

 

Once back at the station, you still do not have to answer any of the officer’s questions or fill in any questionnaires without the presence of a lawyer. The only thing you have to do is give a blood or breath test (or face losing your driver’s license for up to a year). However, you should know that you have 20-30 minutes to contact a lawyer before doing the test. Again, the officer may not advise you of this right, so you need to be sure to ask for it. A 30 minute period could make the difference between you showing a .079 result, and a .081, so it is very important that you take the time to contact a lawyer, even if you are not able to get hold of one right then and there.

 

Most importantly, you should remain calm, composed, and cooperative as much as your rights permit. Remember that the police officer will be evaluating your demeanor throughout the procedure and anything that indicates to him that you are not 100% lucid or sober will be written in the police report and can later be used against you in court. Being belligerent, incredulous, rude, loud, or simply talking too much will do you more harm than good.