DUI Defense Lawyers Canton MS

What do cops seek with a DUI?

Lawyer Franks: They're searching for certain roadway problems that make it challenging to drive. That's where you usually see a DUI obstacle. Typically its a choke point near a tavern or restaurant. That's their most common tactic.

The other thing is they're seeking any factor to flag a person over. Swerving speeding rolling through a stop sign; all those are normal reasons a policeman will use to halt someone. The actual excuse isn't to write a ticket for a light being defective. The genuine excuse is they wish to see if there's anything going on and they utilize that as probable cause.

If the policeman asks me if Ive been consuming alcohol just how do I respond?

Lawyer Franks: As a DUI defense lawyer I constantly suggest that you exercise your Fifth Amendment right to stay silent. You never ever intend to lie to a police officer as that starts things down a very bad path. If you've been drinking the best recommendation I can offer anybody is to exercise your 5th Amendment right to stay silent. That's going to increase the police officers skepticism. But at the exact same time you have not been deceitful. The Fifth Amendment isn't a privilege and he might offer you a hard time over it. Yet its your right to impose it and also remain quiet and also not give details that would be used to convict you in a trial.

Do I have a right to an attorney while taking a roadside sobriety test?

Attorney Franks: No. You don't have the right for your attorney to be present throughout a field soberness test. Whats even more lots of people are flagged over somewhere between 10:00 in the evening and about 3:00 in the morning. Theres no chance an attorney could be at 3 various roadblocks viewing roadside soberness examinations in the middle of the night.

That being said roadside soberness tests are used for probable cause reasons to arrest you and the policeman is utilizing them to identify impairment. But there is some case law that says some examinations are not permissible for the purposes of impairment.

Past the breath examination whats the police officer looking for?

Attorney Franks: The initial thing hes seeking is the smell of booze when you crank down the window. They're trying to find the smell of an intoxicating beverage emanating from the car. The following point is slurred speech. They want to make sure your speech is sharp and also appropriate. The problem with that is some people have a lisp or another speech impediment. That can be a conflicting sign. Likewise whats on the car seat? You'll see him shining the lights in all the car windows of an automobile looking to ascertain if there's an open whiskey container or beer canisters. In some regions open container is enough for probable cause. They're also trying to find drugs and they are aiming to see if you're scared.

They may ask you to step outside of the car. As you move to the back or the front of the auto the police officers seeing just how you're moving. Are you keeping your equilibrium? Are you stumbling? Are you dragging your shoes? However again a lot of these signs are points that can be explained by physical deformities or conditions. Somebody might be unwell or had a surgical procedure just recently on a broken ankle joint or broken knee.

However that might give a policeman an idea of whether alcohol is involved. But you can not use one or two things by themselves. Police officers need to go further before they write a DUI. Regrettably in some cases they do not.