Precautions To Take During A Florida DUI Arrest

Whatever the reason, the police officer has just made the decision to arrest you for DUI-DWI and has placed you in the back of his vehicle.

This chapter covers what you should do at this point. If you have already been arrested and if certain steps to start building a defense have not already been done, it is time to do them.

Because critical details fade in even the best memory over time, and because valuable evidence could be lost due to delay, it is important to do the things covered as soon as possible.

In the process of being arrested for drunk driving

In reviewing your DUI-DWI case, a skilled attorney reviews several distinct time periods during your arrest process: your time with the arresting officer(s); your time at the jail with other officers; and your time at the jail with anyone else.

Although not as critical as the foregoing three time periods, the bonding process and your release from jail may also be important.

During your time with the arresting officer or in the police vehicle

Once the arresting officer has placed you in his or her vehicle, and you are on the way to the jail for either processing your arrest or further testing, the officer may attempt to strike up a “friendly conversation,” or ask you further questions about your arrest.

You might feel like talking, explaining yourself or trying to justify your actions. DON’T! After you have been arrested, the time for you to explain anything is over.

The police officer has already made the arrest decision, or he or she would not have placed you in custody.

Anything you say is likely being recorded, and possibly videotaped.

Even if it isn’t being record, what you say can and will be used against you in the prosecution of your case.

In spite of this, some helpful details that you can discuss later with your criminal defense attorney may bolster your case. What did the officer say to you?

Did the police read you anything? Was anyone else questioned by the officer either at the scene or while in route to jail? Who? If you do not get a name, what did this person look like or sound like? What did they talk about?

Write down these details as soon as you can and anything else you remember about the circumstances that arose during this time period.

Be polite with the jail personnel, but remain silent about your case facts and driving under the influence

Lashing out at those around you will only make things worse.

You are not going to win a war of words with the jailers, breath test operator or law enforcement officers.

At the end of the day, they are going home and you are in a concrete and steel structure that offers little opportunity for communication with the outside world.

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that you have an absolute right to remain silent and not incriminate yourself during your arrest and booking process.

This right applies to everyone, is true everywhere, and it is true even if you are an alien or an illegal alien.

Once the arresting officer has read you your Miranda warnings, your silence cannot be used against you in court.

You merely need to tell the officers clearly and unambiguously that you have made the choice to remain silent.

Remaining silent does not mean that you should not be appropriately polite with the law enforcement officers, using such terms as “please,” and “thank you.”

Beyond providing the police identification information such as your name, address and turning over your driver’s license, insurance and registration papers, you do not have to answer any questions relating to what you did, where you were going or why you were arrested

You do not have to answer their questions about other matters relating to your night’s activities.

Do not talk to anyone else you meet in jail or at the testing facility about anything that happened related to your arrest.

Once any words leave your lips, even if to a cellmate, over a telephone, spoken to your wife and overheard by the police, this information likely can be used against you by the prosecutor and police in court.

Note the names of every jail person you see as well as sober and credible cellmates

A significant part of your case will come down to the word of the police against yours.

In spite of “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” being our legal standard of proof in criminal cases, police officer’s opinions can carry a lot of weight in a DUI-DWI prosecution.

Your side of the story gains credibility with every witness and every single piece of evidence you can gather for your defense.

Even if someone you met with or saw in jail will not be able to add anything to your defense directly, they might be able to help in other ways.

However, to be able to get any help at all, your lawyer will need names of everyone who you met at the jail.

If possible, obtain telephone numbers or the names of their place of business so these witnesses can be called later.

If you can accomplish it, write down names and contact information on your arm or hand.

Any person at the scene of your accident or arrest may be a potential witness.

Try to get their names and numbers immediately after you are released from jail.

This applies to anyone you met at the jail, including guards, janitors, nurses, other people being processed for offenses while you were at the jail.

If you are polite and not threatening, most people are willing to help you.

If “stonewalled” or ignored, use “911” to record your message

The law enforcement officers who are holding you may be too busy, or may say that they are too busy, for you to have access to your friends or family via telephone.

Your jailers have different priorities when you ask for a telephone than you do.

If you have tried to get someone at the jail to help you obtain an independent test, or if you need to give immediate information to someone because it is important to establish an indisputable timeline, dial “911″ and record your message when the emergency operator takes your call.

The 911 system records every call and everything that you say and establishes a time that the call comes in.

These tapes will be preserved for weeks if not months after your call.

You might get reprimanded for wasting their time, but evidence of your clear voice and your “message” will be preserved for your defense.

Remember, that anything you say will be accessible and useable by the prosecutor as well.

Speak clearly, precisely and watch what you say.

Get bond posted for your DWI charge and get out of jail

Nothing productive happens while you are in jail.

Anyone who might be a witness in your favor is already forgetting details of what happened, because they have no need to write things down while these details are fresh in their memory.

Any physical evidence at the scene of your arrest is being rained on, driven over or otherwise being altered by nature.

Your car may be sitting by itself wherever you were stopped, unguarded and available to anyone but you at least until you get out of jail.

The police already have most if not all of their evidence of your so-called impairment, which is later going to be used by the prosecution, while you are wasting time gathering dust in jail rather than accumulating facts and information for your defense.