10 Signs a COP Will Arrest You for DWI





Not necessarily always the case, but BIG red flags in my experience:

1.  The officer has a trainee with them.

2.  While you are doing the tests (or even worse, before you start) backup is arriving (normally they come to arrange the towing of the vehicle and its inventory).

3.  They quickly ask you:  where are you coming from, have you been drinking, when was your last drink and when did you last eat.  These are questions to tie up the retrograde extrapolation of the alcohol level at the time of driving.

4.  You have encountered a Texas DPS Trooper on the toll road after dark (and you have alcohol on your breath or answer you have taken meds).  Sorry to say, but they are notorious for DWIs even amongst local law enforcement.

5.  When you look at the officer, there is no real exchange going back and forth. He or she is on a mission and NOT really listening.  

6.  You are asked to exit the vehicle quickly.

7.  The fact you provided your driver's license and insurance immediately did not stop the questions and it is after 10 pm.

8.  You left a bar where the cops patrol routinely.

9.  It is raining and they tell you they need to drive you to a dry spot.

10.  You say no to all their field sobriety testing (you would get arrested anyway if you were not near perfect- it is the way the tests are designed).



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blood Result: If the "machine" is the answer, prosecutors and judges need to adhere to ISO and legal predicates.

Image
 Most prosecutors and many defense lawyers hinge their analysis of a DWI case on the blood result. Fact is I don't.  I look at the "totality of the circumstances."  Every blood test can be fought.  It is the State's burden of proof to show the result met all ISO standards, is accurate and the defendant's blood.  If the blood is not going to make a difference (for example the citizen looks highly inebriated and the driving facts are bad) then going to trial and fighting the blood result may not be in my client's best interest.  Here is an example (true life example) of why one should never trust the blood result.   1.  It may not be the client's result.  How often does this happen?  It is impossible to say because most defendants have some ethanol in their system and no police department calling the lab to say it was a mistake.  A Collin County municipality's police procedure is to have the police officer take a blood test if th...
Read more

The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test- lacks science

Image
 Cops are taught and always claim the horizontal gaze nystagmus test is the most accurate and scientific.  However; what is lacking is the scientific baseline for this.  Dr. Stephen Rauchman, an ophthalmologist, set out to investigate the  government's "eye" test in the context of DWI/DUI.  His findings are neatly summarized in this article .  The basic concerns I found from this erudite analysis are as follows: 1.  There is no baseline.  To prove HGN correlates with alcohol necessitates HGN be ruled out in the beginning.  There are many causes for HGN (some as simple as people with vestibular problems drinking caffeine).   DWI subjects are never given a baseline test (after alcohol metabolizes to zero, or at a driver's license test) to rule out natural or improperly assessed HGN. 2.  Dr. Rauchman points out the obvious: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA who is responsible for the field tests being give...
Read more

Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome & DWI

Image
  Did you know that a person with Wernicke- Korsakoff syndrome has the same mental and physical symptoms as a person who is intoxicated?  Here is  how Web MD describes it: " Wernicke encephalopathy typically comes on suddenly, and you’ll need treatment right away. Symptoms include confusion, loss of muscle coordination, and trouble with your vision. Korsakoff syndrome happens more slowly. It's a long-term, ongoing problem that damages the part of the brain that handles memory." Loss of balance, or ataxia, is a classic symptom. It happens due to a severe lack of B1 thiamine. Who gets Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome?  It can happen to people who do not absorb nutrients properly due to certain conditions like chemotherapy, bariatric surgery and gastric issues.  It also occurs with those who have poor nutrition or eating disorders.  Cops often use the horizontal gaze nystagmus test (HGN) as the deciding test before arresting people. However; those with Wernicke- K...
Read more