Michigan
DUI Steps of Arrest
First
Fact to Know: The first thing that every licensed driver
out there has to know is that you can be pulled over for any reason,
in order for an officer to check to see if you are driving under
the influence of alcohol. 80% of the time, after being pulled
over and given their reason for pulling you over, such as slight
speeding, swurving, having a light out, or any other suspicious
activity in their mind, they will let you go with a warning. The
reason for that is because they pulled you over with the suspicion
of a DUI. An officer of the law can not legally pull you over
with the excuse of "I pulled you over because I suspected
you were drunk." That would make for too many lawsuits against
the law agencies of the country for every time they were wrong.
| Testimonial:
I was driving on interstate-75 to visit my friend after work.
It was around 1:30am. Right as I got off the exit ramp, a
state highway patrol car pulled me over. He approached my
window and told me that I had been driving 76 mph down interstate.
My cruise was set at 70 all the way from work, so I knew he
was mistaken. However, the entire time he was talking to me,
he was extremely close to my window and repeatedly shining
his flashlight towards my face. As soon as I told him my cruise
was set, he stated that perhaps the tires on my car were over-sized
and I should have that looked at, wished me a good night,
and walked back to his car. |
When they
walk up to your window, and if it's a case where you had been
drinking, the first question out of his mouth will be, "Have
you had anything to drink tonight." This is one of those
questions that no matter what, be honest with them because they
smell the alcohol on your breath, or else they wouldn't have
asked you. Depending upon your actions, the next part can go
a couple different ways. The officer will either give you a warning
for the reason he stopped you and let you go on your way, or
he will ask you to step out of your vehicle. If he asks you to
step out of your vehicle, that's bad, because that means he is
convinced you are in fact over the legal limit of blood-alcohol
content, which is only .07% in Michigan, and is looking for more
evidence to use against you if arrested.
Field
Sobriety Tests
The
first thing you should know about these tests is even sober, are
difficult to pull off.
Vision
Test: The first test they will perform will be to test
the reaction time and focusing of your vision. With a small pen
light or something similar, they'll have you stare at it for about
a minute straight as they move the pen from side to side, up and
down. The officer is watching your eyes to see if there is a delay
from the time the pen is moved to the time you react, as well
as checking for laziness in your eyes which is a side-effect of
alcohol in the system.
Motor
Functions: The
next test is to see, basically, if you are physically able to
walk a straight line, pivot on one foot, and walk back to the
starting location. An important part to realize through all of
this is if you deviate from their instructions the slightest bit,
they will use that against you upon prosecution. During this test,
the officer will be watching several things. The first is if you
walk with your feet facing straight ahead, or if they are facing
outward/inward. Alcohol effects the equilibrium in your brain
and makes it more difficult to judge distance, direction, balance,
etc. He'll also watch to see how high you raise your arms for
balance. Even though the officer will never say whether you can
use your arms or not, if you raise your arms higher than 35%,
they will also count that against you. When you get to the end
and pivot, they will watch to see if you pivoted on the one foot
as instructed, if you swayed while pivoting, if you lost your
balance, if the height of your arms changed, etc. He'll watch
for similar things as you walk back to the starting location.
Balance:
Standing
on one foot, with your arms to your side, you have to count to
30 with a "mississippi" in between each number. A very
important and unfair fact about this test is that field sobriety
tests are always performed outside, in the elements. The officer
will not take into account or be leniant on you because of weather
or elements outside of your control. If you take longer to say
one number than you did another or if you lose your balance at
all, they will be counted against you.
| Testimonial:
I was leaving a club in Ann Arbor, MI and was pulled over
by an Ann Arbor Police Officer. That particular night,
it had been raining for a couple hours already, it was still
raining in fact, and the wind was rather strong at about
20mph, making it a rather miserable and cold December night.
When i had to stand on one foot and count to 30, i fell a
couple times because of gusts of wind and not being able
to stand still from being so cold. I'm a rather small guy,
I'm 5'5"
and only weigh a little over 100 pounds, but the officer
wrote in his report later that I was physically unable to
retain balance during the test and could barely support
my own weight. It was unfair, but unfortunately, was also
too late for me to do anything about. If only I had gotten
a Lawyer. |
Another
Important Fact to Know: 90%
of DUI arrests occur between 10PM and 3AM.
More than
likely, if you've just gone through the Field Sobriety Tests,
you are probably on your way to the police station right now for
the breathilizer test. Now there are several myths out there about
eating "pocket mints" or that having a penny in your
mouth will fool the breathilizer into giving you a smaller score.
Now whether either of those are true is not my place to say, but
what I will say is that if the arresting officer becomes aware
of you, in any way, trying to fool the test, you will be charged
automatically with trying to mislead a law officer.
After you
blow into the breathilizer and get your results, you will more
than likely officially be charged with a DUI. Something you
need to know though, is even though the legal limit of BAC
in Michigan is .07, you can be arrested for a DUI even if you blow
less than a .07. If the arresting officer believes, regardless
of your BAC limit, that you were in fact driving impaired,
than you will be charged with a DUI. Of course, if you are
under the age of 21, ANY amount of BAC will land you a DUI
and under-age consumption.
At this point,
you will receive the date and time for your court date, since
DUI's require a mandatory court appearance. They will also give
you the option of having a friend/relative pick you up, or spending
the night in jail. Your car will be impounded, which can be picked
up at your expense at a later time, although know ahead of time
that Impound Lots charge by the day.
Going
into Court: When
you get to court, you will have the option to be represented by
a lawyer or represent yourself. If you get a lawyer, you will
be schedule a 2nd court date and will have that length of time
to find a lawyer. If you represent yourself, the judge proceeds
with how you plead and sentencing and so forth.
| Testimonial:
As soon as I found out what the state-minimums were for punishments,
I decided that I would just plead guilty and bite the bullet
so to speak because no matter what I was going to end up with
the 3 days in jail, 6 month license suspension, etc. Part
of my sentencing was to attend an "Alcohol Counseling"
program, at my expense. While talking to the counselors there,
I was informed that Lawyers SHOULD ALWAYS
be used in DUI cases. This was my very first DUI, I had a
relatively harmless driving record up until this point, and
with the assistance of a lawyer, could probably have gotten
out of my jail time, and maybe even had the DUI dropped down
to a non-alcohol related offense. I was furious when I heard
this because if only someone had told me ahead of time, I
wouldn't have had to go through everything I did, PLUS,
it would have been cheaper to pay for the lawyer than all
the costs and fees I had from the court. I know that I will
never get another DUI because of how terrible they are to
rebuild from, but if anyone I know ever gets one, I'm definitely
going to make sure they get a lawyer, so they don't have to
go through the torment and hardship that I did. |
