So easy to turn this thread into a bunch of BS that's going on in the rest of the country but good to see people actually helping out. I will say this... I've been let go with a ticket for reckless after being given the Field test. He was frustrated that I was passing the test and tried to make it more difficult by saying I didn't "heel toe" correctly...dumb shit like that. Turns out his Sergeant came in and (I believe) remembered me from the club. (This was the club I worked 3 years ago). He basically took him back to the car while I waited then the original officer came back and literally threw my ticket through the passenger window and nastily said "Have a nice night" ... After all that I was still pissed I got a ticket...lol ...ftr, he pulled me over cause he said I was speeding.. #djprivilege
Just FYI, just because you requested to speak to an attorney does not mean you are going to get to speak to one right away. Especially if you do not have an attorney on retainer who is going to drop everything at a moments notice and run down to the police station. DUI's suck, but I know a lot of people who fought them and won. It's going to cost a bunch of money though.
Back in 84, me and a couple friends went to a bar in Costa Mesa..(So.Cal, where I was stationed at the time)...Last call lights came on at about 1:20....we hit the parking lot, me and one guy on bikes, the other in a Triumph Spitfire. We were going to try to make last call at a bar near the base (Ranch House in Tustin) down the 55 Freeway... We were doing stupid shit in the parking lot and hit the freeway, hauling ass....just before the exit for the base, the fucking freeway lights up bright as day...those two hit the exit, and try to make the base. Got Nabbed by two CHP, spent night in thepokey, and dui...I kept zipping down the 55 to the 5, to get to the Ranch House. I get off the freeway, make the right, and as I'm pulling up to the bar, 3 cops in front of me coming at me, two right behind me. FUCKING HELICOPTER. I passed all the field sobriety tests..(lord only knows how...I was F****d up...) the Policeman told me 'The helicopter had you at well over 105....I'm going to write you up for 80 in a 55...go the fuck home"
Well, you were pretty screwed from the start. There's pretty much no way to fight him having probable cause for giving you a sobriety test. You can't prove he didn't smell alcohol on your breath. You failed the sobriety test said legally you had no choice but to submit to a breathalyzer test. Refusing to take that is a crime itself punishable (In NJ) with 7 months suspended license and a fine of a few hundred dollars. Unless you live in a state that doesn't have an implied consent law, you are boned. Can't even fight the DUI since you didn't take the test. The only way I could see you getting off is if you can somehow prove the reason he pulled you over wasn't legit.
Nice reference Bro. For the uninitiated, here's the rest of the passage. Enjoy a classic piece of American literature for you neophytes... A savage journey to the heart of the American Dream. R.I.P. H.S.T.
Man they always pick out stupid shit to pull you over for. I have 2 duis. The first was when I was 21, and I was barely over the limit. I felt 100% sober because I hadn't had anything in a few hours. I stopped, and turned around where a cop was just by coincidence because I forgot to drop something off at the bank. He said that was suspicious, which makes no sense, because why would someone purposely do that with a cop right there instead of just driving by? The 2nd one I definitely deserved, but the cop followed me directly from the bar. Never stood a chance. It's been almost 4 years since I've driven drunk now, and all I really have to say man is just DON'T DO IT. Just don't do it. It sucks not going out and having fun, but it's the reality of life.
I read thru all of the replies in the thread now. I'm quite jealous of you guys for getting off while shitfaced. Haha that's what I get for living in drunk Wisconsin. I don't understand how you can just get away with not doing a breathalyzer test. I took it both times, and had to get blood drawn the 2nd time. I never even considered refusing it. I honestly have no idea how that'll work for you Beast, but GL to ya. I can't see you getting off scot-free. I mean you refused the law lol. IMO, the general rule for driving under the influence, much like a lot of things in the USA is very flawed. Some people can't even drive sober. Some people can drive perfectly fine while drunk. It is different, pending on the person. It has negative consequences though, and the government has to put down a law on it. So it is what it is. I just hope you learn from it, and heck maybe this thread stops someone else from getting a DUI.
Dude, Tell me that book wouldn't be twice as hilarious as an audio book, with Bill Murray reprising his role from Where the Buffalo Roam. He so nailed the speech pattern and voice. (I saw HST speak several times, and sorry Johnny, you were not even close...Murray nails him...)
That's how my friend got popped. He barely drank then drove a drunk friend home and was pulled because he made a u-turn at spot where apparently after midnight or something you can't make a u-turn anymore.
That's how it goes too. It's hard to get past the fact that you know you could drive home ok. You never know when a cop might be waiting somewhere. It makes it hard to go out and have fun, because nobody wants to be the DD. Haha. So in the end at least personally, I hardly ever go out anymore. But hey it saves a ton of money.
Regarding your job, full disclosure at this point is your best option. Suggest to them they enroll you in some kind of sobriety program and your Lawyer can take that to the Judge. This could very well lighten your punishment and if you get really lucky, this little incident could be expunged IF you complete whatever program your job enrolls you in. Do Not hold back any details with the Job cause if you do, its grounds for dismissal. At this point, you have zero leverage and no cards to play so as they used to say, "throw yourself at the mercy of the court" or in this case, your company. If you've been a good employee up until now, they'll consider that and view you as worth saving. If you've been a PITA, you're done. Good Luck!
I have an advantage in that my wife doesn't drink so she's always the DD. The reality is, if we go out, I drink, she drives, no debate. For the most part, I do my drinking at home. Its just so much easier..
He doesn't have to say anything as long as he's able to get to his job on the daily basis. If anything he should present to the Lawyer and Judge that he, himself is seeking help and that shows initiative to everyone. If he HAS to tell his job, then he should mention he's taking himself to a program, again initiative. I know because, it happened to me at age 26, during a dark age in my time, when I received my big career break. I managed to handle the DUI situation while transitioning myself to this new job. My employer didn't know a damn thing about it and 2 years later they still don't know. Biggest mistake of my life but whatever. To OP: Don't give up all of the details yet, but get your life together, show accountability peacefully, and grind your ass off. You will be in the dirt for a few years, but it will pay off in the end.
The problem comes in when he can't make it to work because he has to do something as simple as community service. Theoretically, you could take enough vacation time to cover that BUT, depending on where you live, sometimes DUI's gets published in the paper. Once its in the paper, the clock is ticking. Helluva gamble trying to keep that quiet since all it takes to blow the plan up is the wrong pair of eyes seeing the wrong name... It comes down to the kind of employer you work for. Some check the blotter everyday looking for anything that could be tied to the company. Particularly on Mondays... If it becomes unavoidable that you will miss time from work, you'd be well advised to come clean instead of trying to cover it up. God forbid this job requires any security clearance or bonding or any character clause. It also depends on what the OP's function is within the company. If he's part of management, not good to hide shit. If he's rank and file, perhaps keep it quiet until there's no other choice. If a company does random DT's, chances are pretty good they check locally for arrests. Like I said, all it takes is for someone to see the OP's name in the weekend blotter and its game over. Sometimes the truth won't set you free, but generally, its easier to deal with the truth than hoping it stays in the dark.
Usually refusal carries the same penalty, sometimes a little extra (especially foregoing any shot at mercy)... However...WHERE THE FUCK IS BIG BLOCKER on this thread. He has the information everyone needs on this subject... He and I don't agree on a whole lot, (besides thinking that the other guy is an arrogant ass when we have a two way conversation, but man...get him started on what DUI is and how it got there, and I am his Amen corner.) 1. http://www.alcoholfacts.org/CrashCourseOnMADD.html 2. http://articles.latimes.com/2002/dec/09/opinion/oe-balko9 And according to a NE Journal of Medicine article circa 1999, 40,000 people die a year from Aspirin and other NSAIDS, due to unforseen complications. yet... DUI started out over .10 as guilty. then MADD goit i to .08. Now the NHTSA is pushing for .05. because they claim it will save 10.000 lives....hmmm... that's roughly a glass of wine...WITH DINNER. so you tell me, are people getting drunker on less alcohol...or are the money making entities (MADD, Gov't) needing to define drunkenness down, to keep the money flowing into the coffers. Let's face it. people who want to share a bottle of wine at dinner, are not media friendly faces....Every one does it, but no one wants to stand up to...'The Good Guys' There needs to be a cellphone/social media campaign...if you know a pol, or a madd member...grab a photo of them having dinner, then getting behind the wheel. Like Patches Kennedy, who got off by blaming it on Ambien, after his Uncle got off leaving a girl to drown. /rant. BB...your expertise is needed here.
If they lower the legal limit to .o5 I don't see how you can give any restaurant with a parking lot a liquor license. .08 is ridiculously low as it is.
