DUI defense question

Jiggly · 04-03-2006, 08:23 AM

So me, my roommate and a couple of other guys went out to the local 'neck bar on sat, coming back they pulled over the 198x chevy 4 wheel drive van because the license plate light was out. I was riding shot gun and the lady officer comes to my window and does the normal, my buddy goes into how he just changed his blinker on the other truck and thanks her for letting him know (he doesnt take pressure well and talks about absolutly nothing while mumbling normally) so in the process of stumbling over his words she gets what she is looking for and pulls out the blower.

he blows a .09 (.08 is legal in UT) and she makes him do a field sobriety test which watching from the window he did pretty welll at, better than I could have done sober, she decideds to hual himn in and impound the beautiful van. Sends us down the street walking to the gas station and I had to carry one buddy away from the scene because he was adiment at waiting next to the van.

So we have the bailbondsman at the station before my buddy even got there posted bail and had him out in 90 minutes from the pullover but he blew a .12 at the station!!! that is a big difference! thats a diff of a little tipsy to fall down.

Any advice I can pass on?

Raven1 · 04-03-2006, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiggly

So me, my roommate and a couple of other guys went out to the local 'neck bar on sat, coming back they pulled over the 198x chevy 4 wheel drive van because the license plate light was out. I was riding shot gun and the lady officer comes to my window and does the normal, my buddy goes into how he just changed his blinker on the other truck and thanks her for letting him know (he doesnt take pressure well and talks about absolutly nothing while mumbling normally) so in the process of stumbling over his words she gets what she is looking for and pulls out the blower.

he blows a .09 (.08 is legal in UT) and she makes him do a field sobriety test which watching from the window he did pretty welll at, better than I could have done sober, she decideds to hual himn in and impound the beautiful van. Sends us down the street walking to the gas station and I had to carry one buddy away from the scene because he was adiment at waiting next to the van.

So we have the bailbondsman at the station before my buddy even got there posted bail and had him out in 90 minutes from the pullover but he blew a .12 at the station!!! that is a big difference! thats a diff of a little tipsy to fall down.

Any advice I can pass on?

It is not uncommon for field pbt's to register lower than an intoxilyzer. The intoxilyzer is a much more complicated instrument and gets a much more acurate reading. A second reason why his level at the station might be higher is the time period when your friend finished his last drink. It takes time for a drink to enter the bloodstream so at the point of the field sobriety tests, your friend could have been on his way up.

Only advise I have is don't drink and drive. With a bac of .12, it is obvious that your friend was legally intoxicated by the state law. Get an attorney and accept a deal if its offered by the prosecutor..

my .02 cents

NCGSXR · 04-03-2006, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raven1

It is not uncommon for field pbt's to register lower than an intoxilyzer. The intoxilyzer is a much more complicated instrument and gets a much more acurate reading. A second reason why his level at the station might be higher is the time period when your friend finished his last drink. It takes time for a drink to enter the bloodstream so at the point of the field sobriety tests, your friend could have been on his way up.

Only advise I have is don't drink and drive. With a bac of .12, it is obvious that your friend was legally intoxicated by the state law. Get an attorney and accept a deal if its offered by the prosecutor..

my .02 cents

This pretty much sumed it up. Being Intoxilyzer and FSTS certified what happens is depending on what time your buddy took his last drink is likely going to effect his impairment. If he blew a .09 on the side of the road (and thats just used as another tool to the FSTS) and a .12 when he got to the station then he was rising, it happens alot.

Jiggly · 04-03-2006, 03:04 PM

oh okay, we were thinking it was rigged or something.

Not that you guys would do that.

dreesemonkey · 04-03-2006, 03:34 PM

So Utah uses another breathalizer machine to determine the actual BAC? We have blood tests here.

And yea, if he chugged a beer before he left and got pulled over right away, it takes about 30 minutes for a drink to enter your bloodstream.

Jiggly · 04-03-2006, 03:50 PM

he is scared of needles and wouldnt let them draw blood lol

kneedraggin650s · 04-03-2006, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreesemonkey

So Utah uses another breathalizer machine to determine the actual BAC? We have blood tests here.

And yea, if he chugged a beer before he left and got pulled over right away, it takes about 30 minutes for a drink to enter your bloodstream.

Most states I think have to forms to test for alcohol in your system. Normally it is some kind of breath machine and then blood.

What states don't use and intox machine? I know Wa state and MD do.

NCGSXR · 04-03-2006, 05:14 PM

Most likely what he's refering to is a the PBT that alot of us officers use on the side of the road, you can get a pretty good idea as to what someone is going to blow. I, however being FSTS certified can get a pretty good estimate of how much you are going to blow by my tests. Then I can use the PBT to backup what I have seen through my tests.

kneedraggin650s · 04-03-2006, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NCGSXR

Most likely what he's refering to is a the PBT that alot of us officers use on the side of the road, you can get a pretty good idea as to what someone is going to blow. I, however being FSTS certified can get a pretty good estimate of how much you are going to blow by my tests. Then I can use the PBT to backup what I have seen through my tests.

PBT's are not admissible in court here so I don't even use them. I am SFST certified also so I base my arrest off that. If they blow goose eggs then I call a DRE.

NCGSXR · 04-03-2006, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kneedraggin650s

PBT's are not admissible in court here so I don't even use them. I am SFST certified also so I base my arrest off that. If they blow goose eggs then I call a DRE.

Same here, they are not admissible in court, however they only go to backup what your tests show you.

I'm considering becoming a DRE

Something else, in NC we can use the PBT to get a reading and use that on the ticket we give for driving after drinking under the age of 21 (DWI, but for people under 21)

OFFICER737 · 04-03-2006, 06:40 PM

TN. uses the intox. machine as well. Actually the officer has 3 available tests they can use after the SFST. Blood, breath and urine and it is the officer's choice as to which they want to use. I prefer blood because I tend to test for narcotics as well. Here if they refuse to submit to blood testing then they are marked as refused and charged with violation of the implied consent law as well and we are not required to offer a secondary intox test.

I just got recertified on the SFST and they are fixing to let us start using HGN as well. The state furnished new intoxlizer E II machines so they are pushing for us to use them more.......I will probably keep using blood until they FORCE me to use the machine.

Jiggly · 04-03-2006, 10:23 PM

tooooo many acronyms

another question... I am just going to start riding my bicycle to the bar, as long as I dont get hit, I can not get a DUI right?

just curious cause the bar is down the street and after witnessing this I dont want to play anymore!

OFFICER737 · 04-03-2006, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiggly

tooooo many acronyms

another question... I am just going to start riding my bicycle to the bar, as long as I dont get hit, I can not get a DUI right?

just curious cause the bar is down the street and after witnessing this I dont want to play anymore!

hmmm...not sure about DUI but maybe public intox. Tenn. law states "a motor driven vehicle". I had an uncle get a DUI on a lawnmower once. He drove to a bar in downtown NAshville once.......drunk!

bob12312357 · 04-03-2006, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OFFICER737

TN. uses the intox. machine as well. Actually the officer has 3 available tests they can use after the SFST. Blood, breath and urine and it is the officer's choice as to which they want to use. I prefer blood because I tend to test for narcotics as well. Here if they refuse to submit to blood testing then they are marked as refused and charged with violation of the implied consent law as well and we are not required to offer a secondary intox test.

I just got recertified on the SFST and they are fixing to let us start using HGN as well. The state furnished new intoxlizer E II machines so they are pushing for us to use them more.......I will probably keep using blood until they FORCE me to use the machine.

I prob wouldn't give you a blood test either. I don't know about over in tennesse, but over here in NYC that would open up the possibility of so many illegal searches and pull overs to raise numbers and meet "performance standards" it would get old fast. While you seem like a good fair guy i've been dragged outta my car at DUI checkpoints cause my contacts make my eyes red and at like 4 in the morning i'm normally ditzy anyway. If you think i'm goin to the station house to be poked your crazier then i thought lol. Ohh yea and i wouldn't let my self get stuck witha needle

OFFICER737 · 04-03-2006, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bob12312357

I prob wouldn't give you a blood test either. I don't know about over in tennesse, but over here in NYC that would open up the possibility of so many illegal searches and pull overs to raise numbers and meet "performance standards" it would get old fast. While you seem like a good fair guy i've been dragged outta my car at DUI checkpoints cause my contacts make my eyes red and at like 4 in the morning i'm normally ditzy anyway. If you think i'm goin to the station house to be poked your crazier then i thought lol. Ohh yea and i wouldn't let my self get stuck witha needle

well ya gotta have a reason to take them in too. Smell of an aolcoholic beverage about their breath and person, slurred speech, red glassy bloodshot eyes, poor balance and small muscle manipulation. Also must perform insufficient on the basic field sobreity tasks. If they are not intoxicated to the level of arrest then I ask them to call someone to come pick them up and then that is the end of it.