SqueakMouse
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? OH
First off, I have retained an attorney but will not get a chance to meet with her for quite a while to discuss this, and it's been weighing on my mind. This seems relatively unique, so I thought I'd toss it out to the fourm for some pre-consultation advice.
I was escorted out of a tavern the other night and subsequently arrested for OUI. The city police officer observed my car parked awkwardly in the parking lot with a flat tire, pulled through, and observed that it had nicked the vehicle in front of it. There was some apparant damage, and im not asserting that the officer was in any means out of line for checking into the situation. After running my plate, and discovering my wifes name, he entered the establishment to look, I would assume, for her or myself. After identifying me sitting there enjoying a beverage, he asked me to come outside to have a little chat. He asked if I had been driving that evening and why I hadnt reported the apparant accident.
At that point I clammed up. I had had a few drinks and only thought I blew out my tire (I had brake issues as well and had to slam my p.o.s. Toyota into 'Park' to even stop). Realizing I did not like where this line of questioning was going at all, and obviously at that point having consumed a few drinks, I decided to begin exercising my right to remain silent immediately. I was then arrested for suspicion of OUI and taken immediately into custody.
After about a half hour of what I assumed was the officer standing around writing out an accident report or what have you, he returned to the cruiser I was sitting in and pulled me out to try to administer a field sobriety test, which i refused. He then attemtped to administer a BPT, which I also refused. Se we took a ride down to city lockup and what amounted to about 2 1/2 hours after our initial contact, I had my blood drawn. I am going to assume the results of that test to show a decent amount of intoxication.
My question (finally) is: How can they allege OUI, or more to the point, prove it? I am completely agreeable to coping to the accident...hell, there's a better than average chance that I know the other guy who's car was hit and I'll owe him and apology w/interest, but...I wasnt drunk when I arrived. I had not spent a terribly long time in the tavern, and I'm not going to be disingeneous and say I hadnt consumed a few before heading over there, but how can I, or the police for that matter, pinpoint at what level i was when the fender bender occured? I'm sure the amount i had previously, plus what I had consumed at the tavern, would stack up to a BAC that would prove me over the limit.
I have no past record, and im comfortable admitting to things I am sure that are true, but with the increasingly ridiculous penalties and things associated with OUI/DUI charges in this state, I'd like to know how much of a chance I have of beating (I hate that term) the OUI charge?
First off, I have retained an attorney but will not get a chance to meet with her for quite a while to discuss this, and it's been weighing on my mind. This seems relatively unique, so I thought I'd toss it out to the fourm for some pre-consultation advice.
I was escorted out of a tavern the other night and subsequently arrested for OUI. The city police officer observed my car parked awkwardly in the parking lot with a flat tire, pulled through, and observed that it had nicked the vehicle in front of it. There was some apparant damage, and im not asserting that the officer was in any means out of line for checking into the situation. After running my plate, and discovering my wifes name, he entered the establishment to look, I would assume, for her or myself. After identifying me sitting there enjoying a beverage, he asked me to come outside to have a little chat. He asked if I had been driving that evening and why I hadnt reported the apparant accident.
At that point I clammed up. I had had a few drinks and only thought I blew out my tire (I had brake issues as well and had to slam my p.o.s. Toyota into 'Park' to even stop). Realizing I did not like where this line of questioning was going at all, and obviously at that point having consumed a few drinks, I decided to begin exercising my right to remain silent immediately. I was then arrested for suspicion of OUI and taken immediately into custody.
After about a half hour of what I assumed was the officer standing around writing out an accident report or what have you, he returned to the cruiser I was sitting in and pulled me out to try to administer a field sobriety test, which i refused. He then attemtped to administer a BPT, which I also refused. Se we took a ride down to city lockup and what amounted to about 2 1/2 hours after our initial contact, I had my blood drawn. I am going to assume the results of that test to show a decent amount of intoxication.
My question (finally) is: How can they allege OUI, or more to the point, prove it? I am completely agreeable to coping to the accident...hell, there's a better than average chance that I know the other guy who's car was hit and I'll owe him and apology w/interest, but...I wasnt drunk when I arrived. I had not spent a terribly long time in the tavern, and I'm not going to be disingeneous and say I hadnt consumed a few before heading over there, but how can I, or the police for that matter, pinpoint at what level i was when the fender bender occured? I'm sure the amount i had previously, plus what I had consumed at the tavern, would stack up to a BAC that would prove me over the limit.
I have no past record, and im comfortable admitting to things I am sure that are true, but with the increasingly ridiculous penalties and things associated with OUI/DUI charges in this state, I'd like to know how much of a chance I have of beating (I hate that term) the OUI charge?