Seattle DUI Attorney | Vehicle Searches - Don't Give Consent

As a Seattle DUI attorney I see this situation all the time: you are driving around, minding your own business, and all of a sudden there is a cop on your tail with lights already flashing. Maybe you were speeding, maybe you forgot to use your turn signal, maybe you were following too close. Whatever the reason, you've had a couple of drinks at a buddies house and are a little nervous that the officer is going to smell your breath and investigate you for Seattle DUI.

But, thankfully, the cop doesn't do anything. He writes you a ticket for whatever you've done and is about to leave when he stops, turns around, and casually says "do you mind if I take a look inside the vehicle real quick to make sure there are no drugs or weapons?"

You freeze. You are not sure what to do. You know you have a small baggie of marijuana in the glove box, so you don't want him to search. But you don't know what to do. Sensing some hesitation the officer asks you if you have any drugs in the car, and you say no. So, he says, it won't be any problem if you take a look inside the vehicle. You say okay, and start thinking about the Seattle criminal attorney you are going to need to hire to take care of this (so much for the relief of not needing a DUI defense attorney).

I see this situation play out over and over again (and talk about it constantly on the DUI Attorney Seattle Blog) with clients. And one thing never changes, you should never consent to a search of your vehicle. If you consent, you are freely giving up all of your constitutional rights to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures.

What that right means is that before an officer can search your car or anything else, he must have probable cause, and get a warrant (most of the time). Probable cause is most easily described as an articulable suspicion that crime is afoot. This means the officer must be able to point out specific facts that tend to make him reasonably believe that your car has drugs in it. In the example that didn't exist, but since you consented, all of that is out the window.

If you are investigated for Seattle DUI, a speeding ticket, or anything else in Seattle and the police ask if they can search anything of yours, always say no. If they search anyway then you can hire us to help you. We are Seattle DUI attorneys, but we also do other types of criminal defense. And in the example above, we'd have a great shot of getting the evidence suppressed. Bottom line - don't consent to a search - ever.

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What Does "Under the Influence" Mean in a Seattle DUI Case?

It dawned on me that this question might be interesting for the readers of the DUI Attorney Seattle Blog, particularly if you ever find yourself in the following situation: you are pulled over by the police, the Seattle police, for example; they investigate you for DUI in Seattle; you decline to take field sobriety tests like you should; you decline to tell the officer how much you've had to drink like you should; and you decline to take a portable breath test, like you should. At the end of all that, for whatever reason, they still decide to arrest you for DUI and take you to the station.

The funny thing is, you don't feel drunk. You did have a couple of beers while out mowing the lawn, but nothing that would bring you to the level of being drunk. And you were driving perfectly fine. The officer said he pulled you over for having a broken tail light. So you are not surprised when you get down to the station and take the breathalyzer and blow a .05, well under the legal limit of .08. They officer lets you go, but mentions that charges might still be filed.

A couple of months go by and you have forgotten all about the incident. Until the mail arrives. That is when you see it - the citation and notice of summons for arraignment for a DUI. You can't believe you were charged with DUI because you blew under the .08. But the citation says you are charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence or affected by drugs or alcohol. What the heck does that mean?

You may not have known this, but DUI in Washington state, including Seattle, can be charged in one of three ways: (1) having a breathalyzer test of over .08; driving while under the influence or affected by alcohol or drugs; and (3) driving while under the influence or affected by alcohol and drugs. So what does that mean? Aren't you sober enough to drive if you blow under .08? Not if the prosecutor wants to be a hard ass about it.

Under the influence and affected by are synonymous with each other. For purposes of DUI law, they mean the same thing. The definition of these terms is any influence that lessons, to an appreciable degree the ability of the accused to handle a vehicle. The state doesn't necessarily have to show that you were driving recklessly or erratically, but they have to have some evidence that shows you were too impaired to drive a vehicle.

Lesson for today - just because you blow under .08 doesn't mean you are out of woods for a DUI prosecution. All you need is a stingy prosecutor to make life difficult for you while you try to iron everything out. If you find yourself being investigated for DUI, don't wait, hire a Seattle DUI attorney today.

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Seattle DUI Attorney | Reminder to Remain Silent

One of the classic missteps I see my DUI clients make occurs at the very beginning of every encounter with the cops. Some of it has to do with television and the movies, some of it has to do with expectation of police officers, and some of it has to do with the sneakiness of police officers. But whatever it can be attributed to, it is one of the classic problems with defending Seattle DUIs and could even possibly help you avoid a DUI citation all together.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about talking too much. As residents of the United States we are afforded several Constitutional rights, one of which is the right to remain silent (more accurately termed the right not to incriminate yourself). Why does talking too much hurt your chances of fighting your Seattle DUI successfully? Because it gives the police officer more information he can then use against you later. Trust me, I'm a Seattle DUI attorney. I know.

For example, let's say you were driving around in Seattle this 4th of July from one party to another. You've been celebrating with friends, which included drinking several beers. Although you feel like you are okay to drive, you freak out when you see the flashing lights behind you pulling you over. You know you weren't swerving or anything so it has to be a minor traffic violation. The cop comes up, asks for your license, registration, and insurance, and you give it to him. As he is about to leave he casually asks you if you've had anything to drink today. At this point you have to make a decision that will probably direct the rest of the stop.

Most people, no matter how many beers they've had say they've had a couple of beers. Two beers is actually the standard answer. And it is the wrong answer. Now, I'm not saying you should lie to the cops. That could be more devastating than telling the truth because in court the prosecutor gets to paint you not only as a drunk driver but as a liar. What you should do is keep quiet. Politely tell the officer you'd rather not answer the question and shut up and wait for him to say something.

The reason you do this is because you have the right not to incriminate yourself. That means you don't have to tell the officer you've been drinking, something he'll certainly use against you later. If the officer continues to push, ask him if you are free to go and if not let him know you'd like to speak with your Seattle DUI attorney (or call one if you don't have one).

At that point the officer will have to make some very difficult decisions with how to proceed (he knows that his initial cues probably aren't enough to arrest you for drunk driving - he probably needs more - but you aren't going to give it to him, and he won't know what to do).

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