First and foremost, thanks for helping me.
I was pulled over last night after leaving the bars driving some friends home, I had a few drinks, including 1 beer approx. 7 hours prior, a (light) Jim Beam and Coke approx. 6 hours prior, and a (strong!) long island approx. 20 minutes prior, along with a few sips from friends drinks throughout the night. Now, I'm 6 foot and really skinny, and I had eaten only one meal all day, so I'm sure none of that helped me out.
I was apparently pulled over for driving out of my lane, which at first I was confused because I *knew* I was driving fine, under the speed limit, and in my lane (we have rumble strips on both white and yellow lines, so I knew). Anyway, after hearing from my friend who was talking to the cops afterwards, they said I was kicking up dust from the shoulder. Then I looked on my ticket and the location listed was 5 miles prior, down a 2 lane one way street. This particular street is without lines painted on the shoulder, and it has a 5 foot or so shoulder as well, full of dust and debris. And I have the bad habit of always driving in that shoulder. Pretty much every time I go through there, which is daily.
So I get pulled over, he smells alcohol and says I was swerving. I had 4 other individuals with me, all far drunker than I was. So, on to my sobriety tests. He complimented me on how well I can do the 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 finger count, sober or not, and I also counted to 38 doing the one leg test. When he had me follow his pen horizontally with my eyes, I simply could not see the pen, he was standing between me and his squad car with lights shining in my eyes, so I tried to 'guess' where the pen was based on where he was moving his hand. I don't know if I failed that one or not. Afterwards, I blew a .122 and was arrested. The entire time I was coherent and not visually drunk, as confirmed by my friends watching. I give them full consent to do whatever they must, they search and impound my vehicle and take me to the hospital to get blood drawn. They never gave me a second breath test.
I'm wondering if I am able to get a copy of the dashboard video of my arrest, to be able to see the condition that I was in as well as my driving ability. I was reading some case summaries and saw some people getting their charge down to a careless driving charge, how likely is this? My arraignment is in 4 days, what should I discuss with a lawyer and what exactly am I looking at here?
I was pulled over last night after leaving the bars driving some friends home, I had a few drinks, including 1 beer approx. 7 hours prior, a (light) Jim Beam and Coke approx. 6 hours prior, and a (strong!) long island approx. 20 minutes prior, along with a few sips from friends drinks throughout the night. Now, I'm 6 foot and really skinny, and I had eaten only one meal all day, so I'm sure none of that helped me out.
I was apparently pulled over for driving out of my lane, which at first I was confused because I *knew* I was driving fine, under the speed limit, and in my lane (we have rumble strips on both white and yellow lines, so I knew). Anyway, after hearing from my friend who was talking to the cops afterwards, they said I was kicking up dust from the shoulder. Then I looked on my ticket and the location listed was 5 miles prior, down a 2 lane one way street. This particular street is without lines painted on the shoulder, and it has a 5 foot or so shoulder as well, full of dust and debris. And I have the bad habit of always driving in that shoulder. Pretty much every time I go through there, which is daily.
So I get pulled over, he smells alcohol and says I was swerving. I had 4 other individuals with me, all far drunker than I was. So, on to my sobriety tests. He complimented me on how well I can do the 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 finger count, sober or not, and I also counted to 38 doing the one leg test. When he had me follow his pen horizontally with my eyes, I simply could not see the pen, he was standing between me and his squad car with lights shining in my eyes, so I tried to 'guess' where the pen was based on where he was moving his hand. I don't know if I failed that one or not. Afterwards, I blew a .122 and was arrested. The entire time I was coherent and not visually drunk, as confirmed by my friends watching. I give them full consent to do whatever they must, they search and impound my vehicle and take me to the hospital to get blood drawn. They never gave me a second breath test.
I'm wondering if I am able to get a copy of the dashboard video of my arrest, to be able to see the condition that I was in as well as my driving ability. I was reading some case summaries and saw some people getting their charge down to a careless driving charge, how likely is this? My arraignment is in 4 days, what should I discuss with a lawyer and what exactly am I looking at here?