satpak77 said:
but make sure you decline the above things
(The following is regarding refusing to do Feild Sobriety Tests (FSTs))
You'll be forcing the officer to make a decision on whether to arrest you based on what he's seen up to that point.
Keep in mind that the observations made during the vehicle in motion and pre-arrest phases of the stop are what gets a conviction. Those FSTs are greek to a jury..I mean you might as well be speaking alien.
BUT, juries understand things like watery, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, swerving, reeking of booze, running a stop sign, turning from the wrong lane, failure to accept the right of way, unzipped pants, driving in the area of the road commonly used for parking, disheveled clothing and hair, the "thousand yard stare," forgetting to hand over one or the other when asked for a DL, registration and POFR, and things of that nature.
If you refuse to do those tests, you might very well be denying yourself the opportunity to exonerate yourself of being impaired. Keep in mind that most DUI officers are experienced enough to have built a pretty convincing case within the 3 minutes after you've been stopped.
Ever have an officer stop you and ask for your driver's license and then, while you're in the middle of digging out your DL, he then asks for your POFR and registration? How you respond to that request is actually a concealed FST wherein your attention must be divided in order to remember to had over your reg. and POFR. If you just hand over the DL and forget the rest, you've failed that test.
Keeping this in mind, IF you've been drinking and IF you get pulled over and IF you think you're OK, and IF you refuse to do any FSTs, you'll be forcing the officer on scene to make a decision based on what he has observed and your actions up to that point.
....you most likely won't like the result.
I've made over 250 DUI arrests. I ran probably three to four times that number through at least an abridged battery of FSTs only to discover that evidence to arrest then didn't exist. I let 'em go.
ALSO, if you roll your window down a half inch and slide through your DL and your ACLU "bust" card, the officer will see that as a challenge, and as you can well imagine, these guys running around dealing with the scum of society are a tenacious pack. (read: you've screwed yourself)
Be careful out there.
