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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