Even if you are guilty of DUI, you have rights as a free citizen, and the arresting officer must respect those rights. However, there have been numerous instances where this was not the case, and you may find yourself in a tough situation where the arresting officer may not care about their duties and your rights. If so, you’ll have to take control over your senses, be smart, and note a couple of things during a DUI arrest.
You should never ignore misbehavior from a police officer because the violation of your civic rights is not a small thing. However, in the case of a DUI arrest, people are usually scared and confused and thus have no idea how to deal with any violations of their rights. In this article, we will cover your rights in a DUI case, how you can safeguard them, and how you can react to such misbehavior. Just remember that you contact a competent Portland DUI defense lawyer for legal representation so that you can get out of this mess as soon as possible.
Understand Your Rights With Regards to a DUI Arrest
You need to begin with understanding your rights. A police officer can stop you if they suspect DUI, i.e. if your driving patterns give them a reason to suspect that you were engaged in DUI. Following this, they’ll ask you to take an alcotest which you will have to take even if you are not drunk. If you refuse an alcotest, you’ll forfeit some of your rights in the matter, thus you should go through with the test.
Following the test, the officer will either let you go if the results are positive or put you under arrest for DUI if the results turn out positive. At this stage, you have the right to remain silent, and you don’t have to be completely submissive, i.e. if the officer asks for your permission to search your car, you can say no – there will be no consequences for saying so.
You don’t have to answer their questions if you don’t feel like it, and it would be best if you don’t. And you have the right to legal representation; you should ask to be allowed to contact your DUI defense lawyer as soon as possible.
Also, before any questioning in custody, the police officers must declare your Miranda rights, if they fail to do so and force you to give any statements or answers, then all of that will be considered inadmissible as evidence in your case.
Don’t Ignore Rights Violations
If you notice your rights being violated, don’t take that for granted. You don’t have to tolerate abusive behavior or prejudice (unfortunately, racial prejudice is a big problem with many police officers), however, depending on the situation, silence may be a better option for the time being.
But as soon as you are with your lawyer, tell them everything, don’t leave out even a single detail. If the officers got their hands on some evidence or incriminating statements in violation of your rights, your lawyer will be able to get those pieces of evidence barred from becoming decisive in your case.
Just play it cool until you get to see your lawyer.
How Can Your Lawyer Help?
Your lawyer will offer you legal representation at all levels of the case. This also includes safeguarding your civic rights throughout. If, for instance, the police officer presents evidence against you which they fished out of your car even when you did not give consent for a car search, then, by law, that evidence should be inadmissible in your case.
Your lawyer will file a motion for that to happen.
Plus, your lawyer will also make sure that any abusive treatment does not go unnoticed and appropriate disciplinary action is taken against the offender.
Contact Trilogy Law Group
We recommend calmness and resolve in such stressful situations because getting all hyped up will only make things worse. You can always prove your innocence if the DUI test was falsely positive. Avoid giving any statements and discuss matters with your DUI defense attorney. At the Trilogy Law Group, we have a very strict pro-client policy; we prioritize our clients above anything else. Plus, we’ll keep you in the loop of all that happens in your case, guide you on how to best handle the situation, and get you out of this mess.
Call us today for legal representation!
