false dui arrest and subsequent issues

[ocilac]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? texas!

last year I was arrested 'for driving under the infuence.' i was exhausted, but not drunk, and asked to be breathalized several times but was refused. furthermore, when they were performing the tests i looked back over at my car and saw one policeman scouring my purse, another in my car--clearly i was neither informed nor asked for consent to search my belongings. they refused to let my roomate (half a mile away) come pick up my car in leu of towing, and did not read me my rights . I was finally brethalized upon arriving at the jail, and thenwas seemingly 'forgot' about for about 18 hours, during which the 2 or 3 times I approached the desk for information I was yelled at to sit until I was called. finally I asked the working handing out 'lunch' if he could find something out for me, and so finally a few hours later, i was called to the courtroom with the next group--where they also seemingly forgot about me, i had to ask to be called at the end, at which point i was told I was there for an expired registration (which, it was). FINALLY i was able to leave, received no papers or tickets and not even information about where my car was until i asked. (it of course cost a couple hundred to retrieve)

now, a year later. I suddenly have a policeman at my door telling me I have a warrent for the unpaid ticket and I need to give him $480 or go to jail (and that knocks a few bucks off the ticket--i can't eveen guess what the point of that is... to me it seems vasty wasteful, rnonsensical and impractical in all aspects... but clearly the judicial system here is way over my head)

he ended up leaving, saying I had to call about a payment plan, and that he would be back in a few days and id have to have at least a couple hundred (I dont, and wont). can I do anything about this situation?

 

[HighwayMan]

This forum is for US law ONLY.

 

[TigerD]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

What state are you in?

last year I was arrested 'for driving under the infuence.' i was exhausted, but not drunk, and begged to be breathalized but this was refused. furthermore, when they were performing the tests i looked back over at my car and saw one policeman scouring my purse, another in my car--clearly i was neither informed or asking if they could search my property. they also refused to let my roomate (half a mile away) come pick up my car. finally, at the jail, the brethalized me---and then seemingly 'forgot' about me for about 18 hours and yelled when I attempted to ask what was going on. finally I asked the attendee dude handing out sandwiches if he could ask for me, and so finally a few hours later, i was called to the courtroom with the next group--where they also seemingly forgot about me, i had to ask to be called at the end, at which point i was told I was there for an expired registration (it was). FINALLY i was able to leave, received no papers or tickets and not even information about where my car was until i asked. (it of course cost a couple hundred to retrieve)

1. Screaming blow me at officers is not requesting a breath test.
2. So you were arrested for driving with an expired registration and being a jerk to the cop.

now, a year later. I suddenly have a policeman at my door telling me I have a warrent for the unpaid ticket and I need to give him $480 or go to jail (and that knocks a few bucks off the ticket--i can't eveen guess what the point of that is... to me it seems vasty wasteful, rnonsensical and impractical in all aspects... but clearly the judicial system here is way over my head)

Clearly.

he ended up leaving, saying I had to call about a payment plan, and that he would be back in a few days and id have to have at least a couple hundred (I dont, and wont). can I do anything about this situation?

You can go to jail. Or you can pay your fine.

DC

 

[ocilac]

i dont know what happened, i specifically remember writing texas the first time because i used an explanation point...

either way, im glad that you like to hang out at forums and make rude, entirely unprecidented and speculative remarks to strangers. we all need hobbies.

 

[Silverplum]

i dont know what happened, i specifically remember writing texas the first time because i used an explanation point...

either way, im glad that you like to hang out at forums and make rude, entirely unprecidented and speculative remarks to strangers. we all need hobbies.

Where is my violin?

 

[Zigner]

i dont know what happened, i specifically remember writing texas the first time because i used an explanation point...

either way, im glad that you like to hang out at forums and make rude, entirely unprecidented and speculative remarks to strangers. we all need hobbies.

I can see why this one endeared himself to the various law enforcement personnel he encountered. I mean, I'm SURE they went out of their way to speed things along based on the flowery attitude this one shows.

 

[LdiJ]

What state are you in?


1. Screaming blow me at officers is not requesting a breath test.
2. So you were arrested for driving with an expired registration and being a jerk to the cop.


Clearly.


You can go to jail. Or you can pay your fine.

DC

I am totally confused by this response DC. Do you know something about this poster that the rest of us don't know?

 

[Zigner]

I am totally confused by this response DC. Do you know something about this poster that the rest of us don't know?

Interestingly enough, the OP's follow-up post seems to show that DC is likely spot-on with his assessment of the situation.

 

[LdiJ]

I can see why this one endeared himself to the various law enforcement personnel he encountered. I mean, I'm SURE they went out of their way to speed things along based on the flowery attitude this one shows.

Again, I am confused. What am I missing?

 

[Silverplum]

Again, I am confused. What am I missing?

Several words? Tone? Attitude?

Maybe you don't need to understand DC's post?

 

[Ladyback1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? texas!

last year I was arrested 'for driving under the infuence.' i was exhausted, but not drunk, and asked to be breathalized several times but was refused. furthermore, when they were performing the tests i looked back over at my car and saw one policeman scouring my purse, another in my car--clearly i was neither informed nor asked for consent to search my belongings. they refused to let my roomate (half a mile away) come pick up my car in leu of towing, and did not read me my rights . I was finally brethalized upon arriving at the jail, and thenwas seemingly 'forgot' about for about 18 hours, during which the 2 or 3 times I approached the desk for information I was yelled at to sit until I was called. finally I asked the working handing out 'lunch' if he could find something out for me, and so finally a few hours later, i was called to the courtroom with the next group--where they also seemingly forgot about me, i had to ask to be called at the end, at which point i was told I was there for an expired registration (which, it was). FINALLY i was able to leave, received no papers or tickets and not even information about where my car was until i asked. (it of course cost a couple hundred to retrieve)

now, a year later. I suddenly have a policeman at my door telling me I have a warrent for the unpaid ticket and I need to give him $480 or go to jail (and that knocks a few bucks off the ticket--i can't eveen guess what the point of that is... to me it seems vasty wasteful, rnonsensical and impractical in all aspects... but clearly the judicial system here is way over my head)

he ended up leaving, saying I had to call about a payment plan, and that he would be back in a few days and id have to have at least a couple hundred (I dont, and wont). can I do anything about this situation?

What can you do?

Call the court where you were adjudicated, and ask if there is an outstanding warrant and if so, what you need to do to take care of it.

I don't know where you are in Texas, but in EAST Texas the cops do not show up to collect the money. They can and do however show up to serve a warrant. Sometimes, if it is a "bench warrant" the officer will not arrest you per se, but tell you that you have a warrant in the hopes that you will get it taken care of.

If you had to ask where your vehicle was, didn't you think you might need to ask if there was any other fees/fines/penalties you needed to deal with? Did you think that you didn't have to pay the penalty for driving on expired registration??

 

[HighwayMan]

There's alot more to this story than she is telling.

I would have loved to have been there that night to see what actually happened.

 

[Mt_Vernon]

There's alot more to this story than she is telling.

I would have loved to have been there that night to see what actually happened.

Here in Cook County, Illinois, if you have expired plates, you get a traffic ticket, and you go to traffic court. If you renew the plates before court, the ticket is dismissed, with no penalty.

This is a traffic citation, not an arrest.


Police very often try to trump up DUIs on sober people. This time, police must've determined that they would be unable to trump up this charge. So, they looked for something illegal, and they found expired plates.


And, if police were arresting me for DUI, and I were totally sober, and they were refusing to breathalyze me, then I would be angry as well. The OP's anger may be what saved her from a bogus DUI charge. The police knew they were not dealing with a pushover.

 

[CdwJava]

last year I was arrested 'for driving under the infuence.' i was exhausted, but not drunk, and asked to be breathalized several times but was refused.

Your choice of chemical tests comes AFTER an arrest.

Besides, if the officer thought you were driving under the influence of medication or illicit drugs, your BAC would be 0.00 so a breath test would have been worthless in so far as to prove your innocence.

furthermore, when they were performing the tests i looked back over at my car and saw one policeman scouring my purse, another in my car--clearly i was neither informed nor asked for consent to search my belongings.

Quite probably looking for evidence of what you consumed.

If they found evidence to use against you, your attorney can evaluate whether or not to make a motion to suppress or an unlawful search. If they found nothing, and you think the search was unlawful, you can begin with a complaint to the department.

they refused to let my roomate (half a mile away) come pick up my car in leu of towing, and did not read me my rights .

No law requires they let your friend come to get the car.

And about 90% of arrests do not require Miranda rights. Miranda is generally only necessary when both custody and interrogation occurs. In other words, if they want to interrogate you AFTER you are arrested, they will have to read you your Miranda rights.

I was finally brethalized upon arriving at the jail, and thenwas seemingly 'forgot' about for about 18 hours, during which the 2 or 3 times I approached the desk for information I was yelled at to sit until I was called.

And, when you were breathalized, what was the result?

i had to ask to be called at the end, at which point i was told I was there for an expired registration (which, it was).

Good! That's a lot less expensive than a DUI!

FINALLY i was able to leave, received no papers or tickets and not even information about where my car was until i asked. (it of course cost a couple hundred to retrieve)

That's cheaper than out here, but, still a pricey lesson on keeping one's registration current.

now, a year later. I suddenly have a policeman at my door telling me I have a warrent for the unpaid ticket and I need to give him $480 or go to jail (and that knocks a few bucks off the ticket--i can't eveen guess what the point of that is... to me it seems vasty wasteful, rnonsensical and impractical in all aspects... but clearly the judicial system here is way over my head)

So, you went to court, were arraigned on the registration violation, and then failed to take care of that court matter? Ouch!

he ended up leaving, saying I had to call about a payment plan, and that he would be back in a few days and id have to have at least a couple hundred (I dont, and wont). can I do anything about this situation?

Contact the court and ask about your options. It might be that you can ask for time in custody in lieu of paying the fines.

 

[CdwJava]

Here in Cook County, Illinois, if you have expired plates, you get a traffic ticket, and you go to traffic court. If you renew the plates before court, the ticket is dismissed, with no penalty.

This is a traffic citation, not an arrest.

OP is in Texas where even traffic matters or misdemeanors that can subject you to a custodial arrest.

Police very often try to trump up DUIs on sober people.

Ah ... and you have an objective cite for this claim, I suppose??? No?!?! Imagine!

This time, police must've determined that they would be unable to trump up this charge. So, they looked for something illegal, and they found expired plates.

Or ... they made the stop for the expired plates, felt that her actions were consistent with the possibility of being impaired, and acted accordingly.

See, I can come up with reasons without knowing the facts, too!

And, if police were arresting me for DUI, and I were totally sober, and they were refusing to breathalyze me, then I would be angry as well.

They DID breathalyze her! Remember when she wrote, this:

"I was finally brethalized upon arriving at the jail" ... ??

The OP's anger may be what saved her from a bogus DUI charge. The police knew they were not dealing with a pushover.

Or, they determined she was not impaired and filed on the original offense, instead.