I was arrested yesterday forDWI andneed to know what I’m looking at?
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I was arrested yesterday forDWI andneed to know what I’m looking at?
I was arrested outside my community. They made me walk in a line, recite the alphabet, etc. Then the arresting officer asked me if I would like to take a breath test right there. I asked what options I had and he said that I could take it at the detention center. I said OK at the center. There they made me blow into that big machine 3 times. However it did not seem to give any results. Then I heard them saying, “So its refusal then”. They put that in the summon too. Prior to this, I was arrested for public drunkenness in 2009, and have a traffic ticket in 2006 for not stopping at the stop sign. What do you think that they will do at the hearing?
Asked on April 10, 2011 under Criminal Law, Virginia
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You cooperated with the police when you were asked to recite the alphabet and walk a line. You asked your options and you were given the breathalyzer at the station. That is not refusal to cooperate and it sounds like you had an unprofessional police officer who did not understand the machine malfunctioned. So you need to immediately contact a criminal defense attorney to subpoena all records from the video in the police car camera if there is one to the video at the station. He or she will need to subpoena the police report and any other notes taken. He or she will need to subpoena the personnel records of all the officers involved to see if they have a history with this sort of inappropriate and unlawful policing. Then, as to your question of your past, the stop sign is not the issue. The public drunkenness arrest may be used against you to impeach your character if this goes to trial. So, again the best bet is to immediately talk to private counsel because a DWI has serious implications, from loss of job to loss of driver's license to much more.
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