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charged with dui at home not in auto.

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collins1962

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? kentucky i was sitting at stop light , i drive a straight stick.the guy behind me was right on my bumper.when i let off brake to take off i barely bumped into him. i did go on through two more lights before i stopped. ther was no damage to either auto.but he complained about me not stopping right away,i then left , i was home for 25 mins. when a deputy pulled in my driveway, i went out and he arrested me for dui , failure to report accident and leaving the scene of accident. i thought you had to be seen driving before the law can arrest you for dui.
 


They don't have to "see" you driving, just prove that you were. If you admit that the accident took place, you're sort of admitting to driving.

That said, I'm curious how implied consent works when you're not physically driving at the time you encounter the cop. I guess it could also be argued that you got home and were so upset by the accident that you slammed a few beers.
 

collins1962

Junior Member
that is what i done . i drank a pint of whiskey, which is where i had been ,to get it. my lawyer says if that is what they are going by,(other guy saying i was drunk) they cant because they are not experts as if someone was intoxicated.
 

BigMistakeFl

Senior Member
BigMistakeFl

The prosecution will want to prove that you were impaired at the time you were driving and at the time of the accident. With a good DUI lawyer, you can argue that point. Think about what evidence the prosecution will have against you though. The fellow you hit may say you appeared drunk, smelled of booze, etc. Any other witnesses out there who can say that they saw you drinking before you got home?
 
The more I think about this one, the more I am convinced that you do have a legit, arguable case, although I'm not sure it'll help you much (like it or not, if you go before a judge or a jury in this case, they're going to WANT to convict you as soon as they hear DUI... just the way it goes).

If you were in fact drinking before driving, then I'd get a good DUI lawyer and try to plea this one down to something a little more manageable. The prosecutor is going to know that this could be a problematic case for him and might be willing to cut you a pretty nice deal.

If the story actually goes as you've described here, and you weren't drinking (so there's no chance of witness testimony or whatever against you), then I'd probably roll the dice and fight it. You have to recognize that you're taking a big gamble, but I also don't think you should say you did something illegal if you didn't do it.
 

anneanne1

Junior Member
I think you do have a good case against the DUI - the other driver's "testimony" that you were supposedly drunk and that's what caused the accident can only go so far against you. He/she is biased in this event because you hit their car and you took off, and they are pissed and most likely just assuming you were drunk and trying to flee the accident to conceal that. Anybody can accuse anybody of anything, but if there wasn't another witness to the accident, then who knows if the other driver is lying or just assuming it?? It's the same thing as how pictures alone can't prove underage drinking and no one gets minors cause of it... Furthermore, if you have a stick...it's a common accident to roll back and hit the other car. Assuming there wasn't more than minimal damage, it could be believable that you didn't know you hit the car and then you drank when you got home...it will be somewhat hard to prove, but you should be able to find a decent (somewhat affordable) attorney who can get you out of the dui or at least get the charged reduced...good luck.
 

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