I am a Seattle criminal attorney and a Seattle DUI attorney. This means, among other things, that I have a lot of friends, acquaintances, and people I just met ask me all sorts of different questions about DUI laws, how to beat a DUI, and what to do in certain situations if I am faced with it. by the police while driving. But the other day, I was the one who heard a story about a research meeting that solidified what I had been telling everyone: preparation and knowledge are the keys to a good result.
The story began in a fantasy football draft that I was attending with a group of friends. One of the friends, who knows what I do for a living, started asking me some questions about a Seattle DUI case he had recently. He didn’t hire me at the time (I was still working in Kansas as a criminal defense attorney) and chose someone from a list his company has that offers prepaid legal services. Needless to say, this guy’s attorney was a little less than motivated to give my friend five-star treatment.
Even though my friend had clear reasons for the breath test to be removed from the evidence, he was arrested for following too close to the car in front of him in downtown Seattle at a busy time of night (i.e. traffic was bumper to bumper) was impossible to follow to close when traffic was not moving), and showed no other serious signs of intoxication, the best defense attorney could do, and what advised my friend to take , was a stipulated order of deferral to a First Degree Negligent Driving Charge after one year with no infractions and meeting some other conditions.
Well, my friend was fine, complying with everything and not getting in trouble, when he had a review hearing scheduled so the court could make sure everything was on track. This hearing was scheduled for a time when my friend was out of state, so the DUI attorney said he would handle it on his own. When my friend returned, the lawyer did not say anything to him and my friend continued to live life as if there was no problem. Except for that hearing, the court gave my friend one month to complete an alcohol awareness class or face revocation of the stipulated order for continuation. Since my friend didn’t know, he didn’t. Guess what? The court expelled him for DUI and now he has to spend a day in jail!
That led to this story from one of my other friends, who is probably one of the smartest of the bunch anyway. He told a story about how he was arrested one night in Seattle and investigated for DUI. At the time, he had been drinking, but he didn’t feel too drunk to drive. When the policeman started asking questions, my friend stopped talking. When the police officer asked my friend to take field sobriety tests, he refused. He did what he was supposed to do: get the police to find enough evidence to arrest you without your help. The cops thought they had enough, so they arrested my friend for DUI and took him to the station for a breath test.
As I have said in the past, at least in Washington state, when you are arrested for DUI and asked to take a breathalyzer test, you have the opportunity to speak with an attorney before deciding whether or not to submit to the test. . So my friend, being the smart guy that he is, asked to speak to a lawyer. He told me he got on the phone with a public defender (which is usually who they ask, which is fine because they actually know what they’re talking about) and proceeded to talk to the guy for 45 minutes! They talked about a lot of things, including whether or not my friend should take a breath test in Seattle.
In the end, he decided to drink. And guess what he blew; .01. That’s right, well below the legal limit. And because he didn’t take any of the other tests or make any other statements, the police had no reason or probable cause to arrest him and charge him with a DUI test without a breath test. So they took him back to his car and let him drive home!
Now, I’m not saying that if you follow the rules and exercise your rights you can beat a DUI, in Seattle or anywhere else. Sometimes, however, it is about more than that. It’s about limiting the information the police have against you, limiting the evidence the prosecutor has to convict you, and giving yourself the best chance to present your best case if you are charged with DUI. Learn what to do in your state, and if the time comes, do it. It can mean the difference between walking away or paying the price of a DUI conviction.