As long as there are human police officers, injustices always will occur. A
great many police officers feel they have done their job when they arrest a
person for “mere suspicion” of DUI. In some instances, the arrest may be
warranted, but sometimes it isn’t.
Although you may think that just because your Blood Alcohol Level is below
the state limit, usually 0.08%, that you’ll not be arrested for DUI. Wrong!
Actually, you can be arrested for DUI no matter what level of alcohol is in
your bloodstream. Even if you haven’t been drinking at all, if the police
officer observes anything about you that leads him to believe you may have
been drinking, he can arrest you. And then, it’s up to you to prove your
innocence.
For example, let’s say that you just finished a fine meal at your favorite
restaurant and you had a small glass of wine. An overzealous police officer
stops you for a minor traffic violation and smells alcohol on your breath.
He immediately arrests you for DUI, slaps on a set of handcuffs and hauls
you off to jail.
Once you arrive at the jail, you’re photographed and fingerprinted, then
you’re placed in a holding cell, probably along with some pretty unsavory
characters. You’ll wait there for what seems like an eternity and eventually
you’ll go before a local magistrate who will decide what happens next. He
may just assign you a court date and release you, or he may keep you locked
up until you post a cash bail. If you don’t post bail, you’ll sit in jail
until your court date.
Even when you do get out of jail, it will seem like your troubles are just
starting. As a result of your arrest, your car was towed to an impound lot
and when you go to retrieve it, you’ll be faced with paying hundreds of
dollars in towing, storage and administrative fees.
When your court date finally arrives a few weeks later, you need to be
prepared to fight your case by being knowledgeable about the DUI laws of
your state. If everything concerning your arrest wasn’t done properly,
there’s a good chance you can get the case dismissed and all charges
dropped, thereby keeping your record clean. Even if your case does proceed
to trial, your guilt must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. Again, this is
where you need to be aware of the law and what’s legally required for a
conviction.
Keep in mind that the police officer is not your friend. The judge is not
your friend. This is a money-making enterprise for them and they would
prefer to punish you as much as possible, as quickly as possible so they can
move on to the next poor soul who they’ve managed to catch in their snare.
If you don’t know your rights and speak up, they’ll just dish out your
punishment and move on to the next victim. You will have now been
rubber-stamped as a criminal and you’ll have to live with the consequences.