If the arresting officer didn’t read me my rights will the DUI stick in court?
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If the arresting officer didn’t read me my rights will the DUI stick in court?
Asked on December 10, 2012 under Criminal Law, Kansas
Answers:
David West / West & Corvelli
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Maybe. Miranda warnings or the reading of your rights don't affect cases nearly as much as they used to because of changes in the law regarding these warnings. Now, in most cases, police are only required to read you your rights if you are placed under arrest or are effectively a suspect in a police investigation. If you give a statement to police and they fail to give you these warning after you are arrested or a suspect, any statement you make to their questioning may not be allowed in at the trial of your case.
In other words, the police screw up may mean they can't use your statement against you. Now in a DUI that might mean that they can't use a statement you made after being arrested where you told them you were really drunk or had 8 beers earlier that night. While keeping that statement out might help your case at trial, most DUI cases are also based upon the police observing your behavior while driving, recording their encounter with you, having you do field sobriety tests, having you blow into an alcosensor, and all the other things that they note on their reports as reasons they believed you were too drunk to drive. As a result, your statement being kept out of trial may or may not be enough to keep you from being convicted.
DUI cases are very technical and require the help of an experienced DUI defense lawyer who can tell you what they think of your case and how you can best defend yourself from these charges, with their help. Take advantage of a free consultation and get some help from lawyers that know how to help you.
David S. West
Attorney at Law
David West / David West & Associates
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Maybe. Miranda warnings or the reading of your rights don't affect cases nearly as much as they used to because of changes in the law regarding these warnings. Now, in most cases, police are only required to read you your rights if you are placed under arrest or are effectively a suspect in a police investigation. If you give a statement to police and they fail to give you these warning after you are arrested or a suspect, any statement you make to their questioning may not be allowed in at the trial of your case.
In other words, the police screw up may mean they can't use your statement against you. Now in a DUI that might mean that they can't use a statement you made after being arrested where you told them you were really drunk or had 8 beers earlier that night. While keeping that statement out might help your case at trial, most DUI cases are also based upon the police observing your behavior while driving, recording their encounter with you, having you do field sobriety tests, having you blow into an alcosensor, and all the other things that they note on their reports as reasons they believed you were too drunk to drive. As a result, your statement being kept out of trial may or may not be enough to keep you from being convicted.
DUI cases are very technical and require the help of an experienced DUI defense lawyer who can tell you what they think of your case and how you can best defend yourself from these charges, with their help. Take advantage of a free consultation and get some help from lawyers that know how to help you.
David S. West
Attorney at Law
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