DWI Legal Advice. (1 Viewer)

[Saint1977]

Hey guys my girlfriend from East Baton Rouge was recently stopped by a City EBR patrolman. He stopped her for improper lane usage. Upon him stopping her he questioned if she had been drinking to which she stated she had a few. He then performed a field sobriety test on her and she passed. She then refused to breath in the breathalyzer. He arrested her and booked her into jail. Upon the inprocessing he asked if she was seeking counsel. She stated that she would be. he then added an additional charge of wreckless driving.

Can you add an additional charge to a person depending on if they are seeking counsel or not. Can you convict a person of DWI with a 0.00 BAC reading? If the cop does not show up to that date in court or if he does will it have any affect? Ive researched and found that there were many tickets written for DWI 1st along with these additional wreckless driving charges on other drivers that same week by the EBR police department?

How can ones right to attain counsel add additional charges? And if you dont have a Blood Alchol reading and all you have is a suspicioon of use with no proof how can you convict of DWI? No liquor bottles , no wreck, no speeding, no careless operation, just switching lanes on the interstate without a signal at 1030 at night? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Joe OKC]

EDIT ---

First. Her licesnse is suspended for 6 months for refusing the breathe lizer. Plus he already had intent of arresting her if her went that far.

Just a hunch... I think that the Wreckless driving ticket is just so he can win and get something. That is... The DA, could drop the DWI as long as she plead guilty to the WD charge. That way the cop still wins and doen;t have to appear in court. But even if the DA drops the DWI the 6 months suspention still stands bacause now it is in the hand of the Dept of Motor Vehicles..

Joe

 

[moe1967]

Not much advice, but the way I understand it, if you refuse to take the breathalyzer test you will automatically be charged with the DWI.

Hire the best possible Attorney that you can afford.

 

[diat150]

she already admitted that she was drinking. thats why you never say you had a few, you have already incriminated yourself. say no, then do the test. if you do the sobriety test they may badger you more by asking you if you are sure and stuff like that but keep insisting that you havent had anything.

so now the best advice is to get a lawyer that has a good working relationship with that judge. thats your best bet.

 

[FullMonte]

Can you add an additional charge to a person depending on if they are seeking counsel or not. Can you convict a person of DWI with a 0.00 BAC reading?

With a 0.00 reading, no, I doubt you can convict. But, according to Louisiana Law, refusal to take a breathalyzer test will result in a 6 month suspension of your driver's license. (edited for correction: I think current law has it at 1 year for the first offense of refusing to take the test)

How can ones right to attain counsel add additional charges?

It won't affect it anymore than yelling at an officer who was going to give you a warning for speeding...In other words, technically, there's no law that says that the officer can add charges for that...but, I wouldn't be suprised if they did.

 

[BullDawg]

EBR? She's screwed.

 

[donato]

EBR? She's screwed.

Could very well be. I'm from there and recently had one friend who got away with a slap on the wrist (connections) and another that lost his license for a year AND had to go to AA meetings once a week AND be periodically drug tested. He had no previous record or drugs in the car by the way :S

 

[Galbreath34]

This isn't any help to you, but might be to others. Never refuse to take a breathalyzer. However, you can say, I'd like to consult an attorney before deciding whether or not to take the breathalyzer. Bottom line is, none of the automated penalties for refusal can kick in, and even the worst attorney will wait until the next morning to show up, making the breathalyzer moot without a direct refusal.

 

[Scooter2486]

Hey guys my girlfriend from East Baton Rouge was recently stopped by a City EBR patrolman. He stopped her for improper lane usage. Upon him stopping her he questioned if she had been drinking to which she stated she had a few. He then performed a field sobriety test on her and she passed. She then refused to breath in the breathalyzer. He arrested her and booked her into jail. Upon the inprocessing he asked if she was seeking counsel. She stated that she would be. he then added an additional charge of wreckless driving.

Can you add an additional charge to a person depending on if they are seeking counsel or not. Can you convict a person of DWI with a 0.00 BAC reading? If the cop does not show up to that date in court or if he does will it have any affect? Ive researched and found that there were many tickets written for DWI 1st along with these additional wreckless driving charges on other drivers that same week by the EBR police department?

How can ones right to attain counsel add additional charges? And if you dont have a Blood Alchol reading and all you have is a suspicioon of use with no proof how can you convict of DWI? No liquor bottles , no wreck, no speeding, no careless operation, just switching lanes on the interstate without a signal at 1030 at night? Any advice would be appreciated.

He added that charge because a good lawyer will get the charges reduced to a reckless driving. I just got done with mine in EBR. She will have to get a breathalyzer for 6 months and SR-22 insurance for 3 years, until it officially gets reduced to reckless driving. I got pulled over for failing to use my turning signal. She probably did something to give him a reason to pull her over and he wrote it off as that being the reason. For my court date, we subpoenaed (SP?) the officer. When I was called up, he wasn't in court. The DA offered a deal at that point, which I gladly took, because if he had shown up later that day, they would have gone after me hard. I got 32 hours of community service and had to take 1 class. Get a copy of the police report. If it says she passed the field test and she refused the breathalyzer, you may have grounds for a dismissal.

 

[xpuma20x]

This isn't any help to you, but might be to others. Never refuse to take a breathalyzer. However, you can say, I'd like to consult an attorney before deciding whether or not to take the breathalyzer. Bottom line is, none of the automated penalties for refusal can kick in, and even the worst attorney will wait until the next morning to show up, making the breathalyzer moot without a direct refusal.

Thats why most locations have started mandatory blood testing on people that do this. They have to have a judge issue the order, but if they know they're setting up roadblocks or cracking down on DWI's is the key for the night, they have a judge ready and willing to sign off on blood samples. So, you refuse the breath test, they arrest you, take you to jail and at the jail, after getting the order signed, a nurse comes and takes a fresh sample of blood.

 

[JM Saint]

This isn't any help to you, but might be to others. Never refuse to take a breathalyzer. However, you can say, I'd like to consult an attorney before deciding whether or not to take the breathalyzer. Bottom line is, none of the automated penalties for refusal can kick in, and even the worst attorney will wait until the next morning to show up, making the breathalyzer moot without a direct refusal.

Wow, does this work?

Never thought about always telling them you have had nothing to drink. Will keep that in mind should I find myself in that situation. Thanks!

 

[Galbreath34]

People that are seriously toasted have little chance of remembering to ask for a lawyer and walk the line of not refusing, but it can help bordeline, really not impaired but not risking test error cases to be 100% safe from the breathalyzer. If they can, indeed, do the blood test without consent after you lawyer up, it seems to be much less prone to error (at least I've heard that).

 

[Saint1977]

Appreciate it Guys. Lets recap.

1. No BAC 0.00-- No proof of blood alcohol.
2. Field Sobriety- Passed.
3. Was stopped for improper lane usage. Basciaclly no turn signal which initiated probable cause.
4. Wreckless Driving- Was not given this until inprocessing upon asking if she would seek counsel. What is the definition of wreckless driving? Thats a serious charge. Ive heard of wrecking, drag racing, etc being definded as that. And ive heard of DWI being knocked down to that. But to charge her as if he was already assisting the Judge and the DA on what to charge her with?
5. I want this to go to court and i will not be afraid of a district attorneys deal. In this country we are innocent until proven guilty. No deal whats the worst can happen? Cant charge her with DWI? Charge her with a refusal to take the dwi test? Really? 6 months suspension of license and she gets a hardship license. If she fights and loses her punishment will be all the same. If she fights and wins she walks away. I want the video and the officer in court. So im thinking she should fight the whole thing except the improper lane usage? Wreckless driving is just as bad as the dang DWI. Insurance wise. Sorry guys im just a bit fired up.

 

[efil4stnias]

Appreciate it Guys. Lets recap.

1. No BAC 0.00-- No proof of blood alcohol.
2. Field Sobriety- Passed.
3. Was stopped for improper lane usage. Basciaclly no turn signal which initiated probable cause.
4. Wreckless Driving- Was not given this until inprocessing upon asking if she would seek counsel. What is the definition of wreckless driving? Thats a serious charge. Ive heard of wrecking, drag racing, etc being definded as that. And ive heard of DWI being knocked down to that. But to charge her as if he was already assisting the Judge and the DA on what to charge her with?
5. I want this to go to court and i will not be afraid of a district attorneys deal. In this country we are innocent until proven guilty. No deal whats the worst can happen? Cant charge her with DWI? So im thinking she should fight the whole thing except the improper lane usage? Wreckless driving is just as bad as the dang DWI. Insurance wise.

so not true.

DWI will require SR-22 filing and a DWI is maximum points. Careless/Wreckless operation is like a 2 pt violation.

Find a good attorney in EBR that handles DWI cases.

 

[Galbreath34]

Pay an attorney. Don't think with the WD that it's something to just be honest about and get it resolved. It'll be worth every penny in avoiding risks and what it might do to insurance for years. Hire a lawyer. No brainer.