Seattle DUI Attorney | Traffic Stops

Think about all of the people you meet and have casual conversations with every day. Friends of friends, acquaintances, people you meet at the grocery store, and on and on. Think about what you talk about - the weather, how the sports teams are doing, and maybe a few fun facts about yourself. For me, I usually end up talking about what you should do if you are ever stopped by the police. Once I tell people I'm a Seattle DUI attorney, it's all they want to talk about.

We start talking about your typical traffic stop, what happens, what the cops will say to you, and how you should react. And as we talk I am usually floored by how much people don't know about how one should deal with the cops. Though I'm not faulting them. I see it as more of a public relations onslaught by the police, the way most people are brought up in the U.S. (if you ever get in trouble call for the police...), and a lack of attention the one time this information might get in front of people (maybe social studies class in high school or a government class in college).

As we talk I explain several key things I'd love to see in a police report if they came to me in need of a Seattle DUI attorney:

(1) You didn't tell the officer you'd been drinking. And you didn't lie either. You just kept your mouth shut;

(2) You declined to take field sobriety tests;

(3) You declined to take a portable breath test; and

(4) You were generally respectful to the officer.

Those four things would likely provide the ammunition I need to get you a great outcome on your Seattle DUI case. But I rarely see it. And why is that? I think mostly its because people have an inherent fear of the cops, the cops know this, and the cops use this fear, along with the general public's lack of knowledge of their rights, to get the information they need to charge you with driving under the influence (or find drugs in your car).

As I have these conversations with people, I often see their eyes light up like they've now got the upper hand if they are ever pulled over by the cops and investigated for a Seattle DUI. But, I caution them, just because you have this information at your fingertips does not mean the cops are just going to make it easy for you to get out of their grasp.

I remind them of the feeling of being pulled over by the cops - that nervous feeling you get even if you haven't done anything wrong (and the feeling I sometimes get whenever I even see a cop in my rear view mirror). And I try to make them understand that cops have a lot of tricks in their bag, and you won't be the first person you've stopped who has acted correctly when working with the police.

A great example of this came from Emiro Orozco over at Hostis Civitas, a Biloxi criminal defense blog, much like this one. He is a criminal defense attorney and he was recently pulled over by an officer for no reason. These were some of the things he felt and saw during his traffic stop, which is much like any routine traffic stop for a cop:

Last night on my way home from the gym I was pulled over by local law enforcement's finest. It was around 8:00 pm and I was sweaty and tired when I saw the blue lights in my rear view mirror. As I puled over, I began to feel my pulse rise and my hands get nervous. I thought to myself, "Why am I nervous and afraid? I haven't done anything wrong!?

He asked me for my license and registration and I nervously asked if I could get it out of my bag in the back seat. He replied, "Sir if you like I can get it for you." (Here was his first attempt to search my car) I said no it was ok and that I would get it. That is when his tone changed and he replied, "Is there something you are rying to hide?" Now here I am supposedly being stopped for a "traffic violation" and I am now being asked if I would consent to having my car searched because I refuse to let a stranger get my wallet out of my gym bag.

When I got out he took me to the passenger side of his vehicle, out of view of the on-board police camera. Then began the interrogation. What was I trying to hide? Why was I nervous and sweaty. Now lets remember, I am not only lawyer but a criminal lawyer. I of all people know my rights and spend countless hours reminding my clients of theirs. Yet here I was in the same situation that most of my clients share with me and I too was nervous and afraid...

And the one weapon that I wish every citizen of Seattle had available to them when confronted by the police - knowledge:

Stepping forward into my face he replied, "Why are you so nervous to let me look in car?" He then informed me that he could have a K-9 unit out here in minutes, etc. etc. This is where I dropped the bomb on him and informed him that I was a attorney and that I was not allowing him to search because it was my Constitutional right and that by taking me out of my car he was in effect detaining me and that such detention was a violation of my Constitutional rights because he had no probable cause...

I no longer needed a light to see because his face first turned beet red and then pale white. This looming giant with a gun, bright lights and a badge seemed to literally shrink before my eyes. I have never been apologized to so many times in my life.

There is more to this specific post, which you can read here, but I thought it was important to point out that exercising your Constitutional rights is not easy. You have to stand up for yourself and let the officer know that you won't be bullied or pushed around by him, but in a respectful manner. They know whey they are crossing lines and they know if you make them they will have to back off. But you have to make them.

In the future, if you are pulled over by the cops and investigated for a Seattle DUI, don't wait until it is too late. The moment you think things are spinning out of control or you aren't sure what to do (and honestly, you should probably be doing this before that even happens), zip your lips and tell the cops you want to talk to a Seattle DUI attorney.

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