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Challenging a DUI and police conduct

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What is the name of your state? Arizona
Im going to try to make this simple as possible. I was arrested 6/2007 for extreme DUI. I have a prior conviction from 4/2006. Im just going to list the main points and would appreciate any input!
* listed in report that i was followed at request of another officer regarding a report matching my vehicles description.

*probable cause on citation is listed as "swerving" - does that contradict the statement above? Either way I was going to be pulled over, right?

*officer stated I drove 3/4 of mile before pulling over- actual distance was .2 miles (2/10)

*stated she searched vehicle prior to questiong me ( can she without consent?)

*I was told by the officer ..."if you dont cooperate, things will get nasty for you"

*Would not allow me to refuse the HGN-... stated HGn started AT 45 degrees... (isnt it suppose to be before that if your impaired?)

*refused the walk n turn -...but she omitted that i told her my shoes were 3 sizes to big and asked to remove them

*Officer claimed she gave me a PBT (portable breath test) when if fact she DID NOT...and I have a witness to that.

*officer checked there was a 15 minute deprivation period before my breath test- there WAS NOT.....

* allowed me to do both tests with gum still in my mouth!

* went to courthouse to apply for court appointed attorney- clerk refused to give the APPLICATION and told me to go to my pretrial with prosecutor and If i didnt like what he had to offer, THEN i could come back and apply! (isnt that a violation of the 6th or 14th amendment?)
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
I'm confused, you say you didn't take a PBT, but you then say you didn't have 15 mintues or gum out of your mouth. I think you need to sober up a bit more before relaying the facts of the case. Frankly, all they need is:

1. Probable cause for the stop.
2. Any indication of intoxication which it sounds like you did have at some point. "Gum" isn't going to affect the breath test.

Typically PDs are requested and are assigned at your initial appearance.
 
NO NEED TO GET RUDE . I did not take a PBT- portable breath test....on the side of the road.... I DID take the one at the station an hour and a half later, with gum in my mouth, which, is a violation of standard procedure for the breathalyzers to have ANY foreign object in your mouth within 15 minutes PRIOR to a breath test. The 15 minute deprivation period (police observation of arrestee) is suppose to be the 15 minutes BEFORE your test, which WAS NOT done....in the event I were to eat/drink/vomit/burp.....etc.... therefore, I AM sobered up enough to relay the facts.
Now, if you have no constructive advice PLEASE do not respond to me. I did not come here for judgment. And even if I did, that is not your job.
 
:) well i guess i asked for that now didnt I? Okay. The fact that I am being CHARGED with a DUI- DOES NOT mean that i am guilty. Apparently I can say nothing in my own defense without somebody having to throw it back in my face. Does the fact that I was denied an APPLICATION for a court appointed attorney raise ared flag for anybody? or is that something that sounds like an alcoholic excuse also?
 

Ozark_Sophist

Senior Member
Does the fact that I was denied an APPLICATION for a court appointed attorney raise ared flag for anybody? or is that something that sounds like an alcoholic excuse also?
No. Public defenders are for the indigent. Unfortunately, there are lots of indigent defendents. So, rather than add to the caseload for cases that haven't even gone to the first pretrial conference, the system makes everyone wait for the PTC because some cases the DA may decline to prosecute. Plead not guilty and ask the judge for a public defender application.
 
thank you for providing me with a civilized response versus a morally motivated judgemental slap across the face. (ie..f**ron, my generous first responder...)
 

BigMistakeFl

Senior Member
BigMistakeFl

You can defend yourself, and you should, if you think you can prevail. Like the rest of us who have been digested through the DUI system, you hope to find a loophole. Most of those have been filled in long ago. Hire a good DUI lawyer and fight the charge, if you think the evidence against you is flawed or too weak.

What was your BAC?

Good luck.

Totally unrelated: I know, I'm not the one to say because I'm a guy and thus have no shoe-awareness, and I prefer sensible shoes. But why would you wear shoes that are three sizes too big?
 

seven53

Member
*probable cause on citation is listed as "swerving" - does that contradict the statement above? Either way I was going to be pulled over, right?
You were followed at the request of another officer. The officer who followed you ALSO observed you swerving

*officer stated I drove 3/4 of mile before pulling over- actual distance was .2 miles (2/10)
The distance you were followed has no relevance on the stop, PC can be developed within the first 500 feet

*stated she searched vehicle prior to questioning me ( can she without consent?)
If you were arrested, yes. Search incident to arrest OR inventory for the impound

*I was told by the officer ..."if you dont cooperate, things will get nasty for you"
In a matter of speaking, yes. If you refuse to cooperate, the process will be harder and the judge who catches this case will be informed. Poor choice of words by the officer.

*Would not allow me to refuse the HGN-...
You can refuse anything. Cannot "force" you to follow the stimulus. Refer back to my cooperating comment

stated HGN started AT 45 degrees... (isnt it suppose to be before that if your impaired?)
The officer is looking for distinct and sustained Nystagmus prior to 45 degrees, as well as a lack of smooth pursuit and Nystagmus at maximum deviation, in both of your eyes.

*refused the walk n turn -...but she omitted that i told her my shoes were 3 sizes to big and asked to remove them
Uh OK, you refused he walk and turn but were forced into HGN? Three sizes too big? Did you ask to take them off?

*Officer claimed she gave me a PBT (portable breath test) when if fact she DID NOT...and I have a witness to that.
Did she claim a result? Was your witness intoxicated? Hope not.

*officer checked there was a 15 minute deprivation period before my breath test- there WAS NOT.....
Was this for the PBT or at the station? You do not have to wait for the PBT

* allowed me to do both tests with gum still in my mouth!
Again, for the PBT or at the station? If you blew at the station into a Datamaster or the Intoxilyzer with gum in your mouth then the result is INADMISSIBLE!
 
LOL- well, it was at 5:30 in the morning and I was going a whole 3 miles to my home( i know most accidents happen within one mile of home....) . I had been wearing flip flops and my feet had gotten cold so I borrowed a friends shoes that were a size 9. I informed the officer several times that I needed to remove them in order to perform the test successfully, but she denied my request and arrested me because I "wasnt cooperating"..... unfortunatley it took her 30 minutes of being in my face before she decided to arrest me, not allowing me to refuse anything, threatening me that "things would get nasty" and claiming she gave me a roadside breath test when she did not. Apparently that is a big determining factor on if they arrest you or not. So my only explanation for her lying was because she had nothing else on me. Now, my BAC via intoxilyzer was .157..... BUT that was also almost an hour and a half AFTER drinking..... considerably more than it would have been AT the time she pulled me over. The other issue is the fact that my one witness had a police report filed on her by an angry ex boyfriend some 3 hours before I was pulled over, and he told the officers I had a prior DUI conviction, and that his ex was with me, and he gave them the location. Ironically, the officers were a block down the street when I left that morning to go home, and like i said before, the officer stated she followed me at the request of another officer- namely the one who took the report from the angry ex. BUT according to some posts, I need to sober up and remember what happened:cool: not that the whole scenario sounds fishy...right?
 
yes, it was an intoxilyzer 8000 at the station, and my gum was in my mouth. Now, about the search of the car, it was done, immediatly after pulling me over and asking me to step out of the vehicle, then she came and began her questioning. She was raising her voice with her "pen" in my face telling me to do it... even after i said to her that i didnt want to do any FST.
 
also- she did document in the report my reluctance at the HGN, and my refusal of the walk and turn, but she did so in a way that looks as if i was beligerent, when I was only asserting my rights. I was told once that the majority of drunk people will attempt any fst to try to get out of it, and the fact I was fully aware of my rights during the arrest only enforces the fact that I was not "**** faced" as some would like to believe.
 

seven53

Member
claiming she gave me a roadside breath test when she did not. Apparently that is a big determining factor on if they arrest you or not
.
Wrong. It's just a tool. I have NEVER used one in my ten year career with over 300 DUI arrests

So my only explanation for her lying was because she had nothing else on me
.
Weaving, remember?

Now, my BAC via intoxilyzer was .157..... BUT that was also almost an hour and a half AFTER drinking..... considerably more than it would have been AT the time she pulled me over.
In Arizona, the breath test must be completed within two hours of when first observed

the whole scenario sounds fishy...right?
Sorry but it sounds like a good stop AND outcome. .157% is nearly twice the limit. Be glad you didn't kill anyone, hire a lawyer to get the fines reduced, and get yourself into an alcohol awareness program.
 
so the fact that i had gum has no bearing on this? I know that is alot to blow, but i am confident that had she have given it to me roadside it would not have been nearly as bad. and the "swerving" wasnt why she pulled me over- that didnt happen- but she listed it as her probable cause although she clearly stated she was following me for other reasons. I have always had a healthy respect for law enforcement, I have numerous family members employed by the sheriffs office and county jail., and I know that 99% of them are good and honest, but there are some of the newer, inexperienced officers who jump to conclusions and the fact that I have a prior conviction muddles my credibility, which, understandable to a point, but also gives the whole "leopard doesnt change it's spots" kind of appearance.
 
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