ashelton1980
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Alabama
I ran what I assumed to be a yellow light, but the officer coming my way saw red....so i was stopped. He smelled beer on me so he asked me how much I had to drink that evening. I had about 6 beers earlier, but hadnt had anything for a few hours prior to my stop. I had not eaten or drank anything since then.
He gave me the field sobriety, which I passed easily. He then gave me a PBT. After that I heard him say something to another officer, but didnt hear everything. He said "...., but Im gonna do it again. He smells like a brewery." I took this to mean that it wasnt enough to arrest me. After the second test, he placed me under arrest for DUI (didnt read me my rights, if thats applicable) and carted me away to jail...neither time was I told what the reading was. I took another test at the station, again, I had to do it twice and again I wasnt told what my reading was. He mumbled something, but didnt say anything when I asked him what he said. I bonded out and still have no idea what the BAC was on my test. The only paper I got when I left was an "Appearance Bond". I was told when he took my physical license that he would give me a temporary to use til my court date. I wasnt given anything.
I have no idea what to do now, as this is the first time I have EVER had any legal trouble outside of a few traffic tickets.
I guess my questions are:
what can i expect at court?
Do I need to get a lawyer?
Should I not have been informed of my BAC at the time of my arrest?
Was the arrest handled properly?
What should I plead?
Is there time in the pokey ahead for me?
And outside of these, what else should i know?
Thanks to all of you people knowledgeable in this that are willing to dedicate your time to help out others!!
I ran what I assumed to be a yellow light, but the officer coming my way saw red....so i was stopped. He smelled beer on me so he asked me how much I had to drink that evening. I had about 6 beers earlier, but hadnt had anything for a few hours prior to my stop. I had not eaten or drank anything since then.
He gave me the field sobriety, which I passed easily. He then gave me a PBT. After that I heard him say something to another officer, but didnt hear everything. He said "...., but Im gonna do it again. He smells like a brewery." I took this to mean that it wasnt enough to arrest me. After the second test, he placed me under arrest for DUI (didnt read me my rights, if thats applicable) and carted me away to jail...neither time was I told what the reading was. I took another test at the station, again, I had to do it twice and again I wasnt told what my reading was. He mumbled something, but didnt say anything when I asked him what he said. I bonded out and still have no idea what the BAC was on my test. The only paper I got when I left was an "Appearance Bond". I was told when he took my physical license that he would give me a temporary to use til my court date. I wasnt given anything.
I have no idea what to do now, as this is the first time I have EVER had any legal trouble outside of a few traffic tickets.
I guess my questions are:
what can i expect at court?
Do I need to get a lawyer?
Should I not have been informed of my BAC at the time of my arrest?
Was the arrest handled properly?
What should I plead?
Is there time in the pokey ahead for me?
And outside of these, what else should i know?
Thanks to all of you people knowledgeable in this that are willing to dedicate your time to help out others!!