First of all, DO NOT DRINK UNREASONABLY and DRIVE, as the consequences can be extremely serious.

Now, if you are stopped for DUI, keep the following in mind:

• DON’T MAKE VOLUNTARY STATEMENTSYour voluntary statements to law enforcement officers, such as “I was coming from The Blue Marlin bar,” or, “I only had a couple beers” can be powerful evidence against you in a DUI case. Remember that you have a constitutional right to refuse to make any statements, as they WILL BE used against you.But for your biographical information, DO NOT answer the officer’s questions, and do not volunteer any information! KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!Honesty is a great policy, but it might get you convicted of DUI. Exercise your constitutional right to remain silent, and to have an attorney present during questioning. When you are stopped, give the officer your driver’s license, proof of insurance, and vehicle registration; then tell him you won’t answer any questions without your lawyer present.
• FIELD SOBRIETY EXERCISESIf an officer asks you to perform field sobriety exercises (sometimes wrongly called field sobriety tests), he may suggest that you should take them because he wants to determine whether or not you are impaired. In reality, the officer may already have decided that you are impaired, and that he is going to arrest you. By asking you to take the tests, he is just trying to gather evidence to use against you at trial. DO NOT EVER AGREE TO TAKE ANY FIELD SOBRIETY EXERCISES including the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test (tracking a light or pen with your eyes).You are not legally required to perform said field sobriety exercises. Do not give the officer evidence that will be used against you. Politely refuse to take the exercises, even if the officer says, “Well, if you won’t take the tests, I’ll have to base my decision on what I’ve already seen.”
• BREATH TESTThe advice to systematically refuse the breath test is poor legal advice, in my opinion. Depending upon your drinking habits and your weight, it may be to your advantage to provide the breath alcohol samples after you are arrested. Consulting the Approximate Blood Alcohol Percentage (by volume) chart below will show you the effect alcohol has on people of different weight and sex. This chart is not attached to encourage anyone to drink and drive. It simply indicates that if you are a 220-pound male, and you had two regular glasses of wine with dinner over the course of two hours, your blood alcohol, if tested, will be well below the legal limit. (You’ll keep your driver’s license, and the DUI will be easy to beat!)Usually, after law enforcement realizes their mistake, they’ll ask for a urine test. If you refuse to provide a urine test, the officer will record your DUI arrest as a DUI refusal, with the consequences associated with a refusal.
• URINE SAMPLEProviding a urine sample which may indicate the use of controlled substances will also help the State prove you were under the influence. Said evidence is not as strong as alcohol, as it is much more difficult to tie traces of drugs which may have been in your system for two weeks to any actual impairment.

Have you been charged with a DUI?

Discuss your case with an experienced criminal defense attorney prior to making decisions that will affect your future and your record forever. Contact attorneys Patrick Barbary and Darrell Sedgwick at 321-951-3400 for a FREE telephone consultation.