Broken Down Car...Slept it off the night before...but still DUI????

[fvurakki]

What is the name of your state? Washington

I typed this whole thing out and then it got erased so this time i'll just include the important details:

- I am 20 years old
- Night before i drank 15-19 drinks between the hours of 3:30pm and 1am (not a normal occurance)
- Spent the night where I was hanging out
- Woke up at 6:15am the next morning and decided to drive home. Its about 1 mi to my home from where i spent the night
- Car's clutch went out on the way home. Pullled over. Called triple A to come tow my vehical which is now documented as being undriveable.
- While waiting i fell asleep. The car was on and i was heating it up. A neighbor woke me up and asked what i was doing. I explained the situation
- That neighbor called the cops and said i looked out of it (i had just woken up)
- Cops came, car was off. Keys in ignition. Car not 100% legally parked because it couldnt be moved
- Police perform field sobriety test
- I made 2 small mistakes from being nervous. Both were in not fully following directions. But no stumbling or anything of that nature. I thought considering what time it was and that i just had woken up pretty much that it went fairly well
- This test is on tape
- I was arrested at this time for physical control.
- Kept in jail cell for a little under an hour
- At 8am i'm asked to do breathalyzer. I ask to speak with an attorney. I speak with one and decide to blow
- Either the machine was broken or cop didn't know how to work it. But we did not get a registered result.
- It was NOT written as a refusal but instead that the machine was not functioning
- I was charged with physical control
- Police officer punched my license (he wasn't supposed to because there is no BAC)




So what i am wondering is:

1) No real conclusive field test results one way or the other in the police report
2) No BAC
3) In a vehicle which is now documented to not have been driveable at that time
4) Police officer unjustly punches license after asking around blindly in the office if he should do it. Thus showing he didnt really know what he was doing it seems


Is there a case here?

[Shay-Pari'e]

Is there a case here?

I'm sorry, but this is to funny. So you expect us to believe there was only one machine in the whole dept?

Where is IAAL when you need him?

[fvurakki]

Originally Posted by --PARIDISE--

Is there a case here?

I'm sorry, but this is to funny. So you expect us to believe there was only one machine in the whole dept?

Where is IAAL when you need him?

In the police report it says it would be 3 hours before there would be a replacement so my release was suggested to officer from whomever he spoke to about the machine....just telling the story as it happend

[Shay-Pari'e]

When was your blood test ordered, since the one machine was down>

[fvurakki]

Originally Posted by --PARIDISE--

When was your blood test ordered, since the one machine was down>

There was never ANY talk of a blood test. They tried to give me the breathalyzer over the course of an hour. I've never heard of blood tests til i came on here and read some posts. Do they do this in washington even?

[fvurakki]

BTW...i just want to make a statement here...I'm not coming on here to ask...will i get off...i believe in my innocense...I should not have drank as much the night before for a health stand point and shouldnt have drank period because i'm under 21. But I do not feel i was driving under the influence. So at this time i'm trying to prove my innocence and am looking for advice/opinions

[Shay-Pari'e]

So, did they actually arrest you for something? If so, what EXACTLY was the code you were charged with?

[fvurakki]

Originally Posted by --PARIDISE--

So, did they actually arrest you for something? If so, what EXACTLY was the code you were charged with?

I was arrested and charged with 'Physical Control of a vehical while under the influence"

[fvurakki]

hmmm...no thoughts?

[fvurakki]

Bump...bump?

[huk]

But I do not feel i was driving under the influence.

Fortunatley, the U.S.Court system does not work according to "feelings", it works according to "facts"**************..Grow up kid, take the hit like a man and go do your homework.

[CdwJava]

Here, if you tried to blow and the results came back inconclusive (usually because of an "insufficient sample", we would call that a refusal. Usually, when there is no result, it is due to an insufficient sample by the defendant. Or, the defendant tries to cheat the machine by blowing through the sides of his mouth, sucking, or something else. Of course, in CA we can take blood as well.

Keep in mind that 15 to 19 drinks from 3 PM to 1 AM could still find your BAC well above .13. And being under 21 you can almost certainly kiss your license goodbye for a year.

If WA state allows for DUI in a parked vehicle, then you are likely toast. While you may THINK you did fine on the FSTs, chances are you did not ... unless you are one heck of a remarkable drunk.

You are lucky you did not KILL anyone!

- Carl

[mellofello1]

Well, it sounds like you made some bad decisions here, but as far as the law is concerned, you may have a chance here. Since there is no BAC the district attorney will have to prove that you were in fact drunk. You readily admitted here that you had 15-19 drinks but stopped drinking at 1 a.m. That fact coupled with bad field sobriety results could get you. Also, you admitted that you drove the car to where it broke down. I think the success/failure of your case will hinge on your two admissions. Did you admit to the cops that you drank that much, and did you admit to driving to the scene ? Also, even though you may think you performed well on the field sobriety, the officer may not. Usually cops will make your field sobriety test look as bad as possible. I think your best bet is to go to the district attorney, and see if he will lessen the charge from a DUI. If you go yourself, be careful, he will use anything you say against you.

[fvurakki]

Originally Posted by mellofello1

Well, it sounds like you made some bad decisions here, but as far as the law is concerned, you may have a chance here. Since there is no BAC the district attorney will have to prove that you were in fact drunk. You readily admitted here that you had 15-19 drinks but stopped drinking at 1 a.m. That fact coupled with bad field sobriety results could get you. Also, you admitted that you drove the car to where it broke down. I think the success/failure of your case will hinge on your two admissions. Did you admit to the cops that you drank that much, and did you admit to driving to the scene ? Also, even though you may think you performed well on the field sobriety, the officer may not. Usually cops will make your field sobriety test look as bad as possible. I think your best bet is to go to the district attorney, and see if he will lessen the charge from a DUI. If you go yourself, be careful, he will use anything you say against you.

There are no admissions...and to the person that said if you blow and its inconclusive its a refusal....That wasnt the case here and in the first hearing that was clarified. As far as me still being drunk...If i had 15 drinks the day before which is more likely in my mind but i wanted to error on the side of caution, then I would have been 0.0 when i drove.....If it was 19 drinks, by "The Police Book" BAC calculator based on what i drank and my weight it would have been about .07 when i drove.... .04-.06 when i attempted to give a breathalyzer. That is in the very worst case. Even if it may sound like it...I'm not trying to give justifications....I'm jus trying to show you guys that I seriously was not a sloppy drunk that was all over the road. The chances are I was at a 0.0 . Now if they pass a law for driving while being tired...then maybe ya got me....I may have drank while being under 21....fine, give me an MIP....but I feel i did the "smart" thing by not driving around the night before, and going to bed to sleep it off.


One question...this may be a null point. But as mentioned , my car was broken down. It would not have have moved short of me getting out and pushing it....Does it matter that i was in control of a tin box that wouldnt move versus a drivable car? I have all the documentation of this and that it wouldnt drive/move

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by fvurakki

As far as me still being drunk...If i had 15 drinks the day before which is more likely in my mind but i wanted to error on the side of caution, then I would have been 0.0 when i drove.....

Okay ... here's how I figured it:

- Night before i drank 15-19 drinks between the hours of 3:30pm and 1am (not a normal occurance)

- Woke up at 6:15am the next morning and decided to drive home. Its about 1 mi to my home from where i spent the night

- At 8am i'm asked to do breathalyzer. I ask to speak with an attorney. I speak with one and decide to blow

Therefore, we have 15 drinks and a passage almost 17 hours ... for an average person (and, of course, there are variables based upon food consumption, size, metabolism, etc. - and no weght/frame was provided, so I can only go on base generalities here) this will result in a BAC of approximately .13 (give or take a couple points) at 8 AM. NOT zero.

If it was 19 drinks, by "The Police Book" BAC calculator based on what i drank and my weight it would have been about .07 when i drove.... .04-.06 when i attempted to give a breathalyzer. That is in the very worst case.

Never heard of "the police book".

The chances are I was at a 0.0

Not a chance at all, actually. Your body would have to metabolize the alcohol out at almost the same rate as it absorbed it, and that is just not possible.

Now if they pass a law for driving while being tired...then maybe ya got me....I may have drank while being under 21....fine, give me an MIP....

And they probably will.

One question...this may be a null point. But as mentioned , my car was broken down. It would not have have moved short of me getting out and pushing it....Does it matter that i was in control of a tin box that wouldnt move versus a drivable car? I have all the documentation of this and that it wouldnt drive/move

Well, you DID drive it to the point it broke down. However, I don't know what constitues "driving" in WA so your DUI laws may be different than CA.

- Carl