Dui drugs/open container. I should be able to get off

What is the name of your state? California

Hello everybody,

I am 21 years old. About a month ago, my friends and I got pulled over. We had beer in the car and it was open. The cop obviously saw the beer and took us out of the car. I was not drunk at all but I was driving and he started doing sobriety tests and I did not make a single mistake. He then asked me when I last smoked weed and I told him 6 hours ago which was stupid of me but whats happened has happened. Anyways, they took me into the station and impounded the car. At the station they administered a breath test and I passed that as well. They also drew blood samples. I overheard them saying that they wanted to also test for THC but in the end all I got back was a peice of paper that said I can check my Blood alcohol level on the internet. I got charged with DUI/drugs and open container. My car was searched and I was not in possession of any drugs or drug paraphenelia.

A week later I check the result of my blood test and I had a blood alcohol level of .00% yes .00%

My question is can I fight it? I mean from the sobriety tests clearly I was not under the influence. I had no alcohol in my system. I was not in possession of anything. I was not DUI. Dont I have to be proven guilty without a shadow of a doubt? A blood test is not proof of anything.

If they tested for THC can I get those results??? And do I have a chance? What sort of issues should I be expecting when I go the court? Thanks for all your help fellas.

Edit: BTW this is my first arrest ever. I know I shouldnt have said some things to the cop but I cannot change the past now.

teknotikal said:

What is the name of your state? California

Hello everybody,

I am 21 years old. About a month ago, my friends and I got pulled over. We had beer in the car and it was open. The cop obviously saw the beer and took us out of the car. I was not drunk at all but I was driving and he started doing sobriety tests and I did not make a single mistake. He then asked me when I last smoked weed and I told him 6 hours ago which was stupid of me but whats happened has happened. Anyways, they took me into the station and impounded the car. At the station they administered a breath test and I passed that as well. They also drew blood samples. I overheard them saying that they wanted to also test for THC but in the end all I got back was a peice of paper that said I can check my Blood alcohol level on the internet. I got charged with DUI/drugs and open container. My car was searched and I was not in possession of any drugs or drug paraphenelia.

A week later I check the result of my blood test and I had a blood alcohol level of .00% yes .00%

My question is can I fight it? I mean from the sobriety tests clearly I was not under the influence. I had no alcohol in my system. I was not in possession of anything. I was not DUI. Dont I have to be proven guilty without a shadow of a doubt? A blood test is not proof of anything.

If they tested for THC can I get those results??? And do I have a chance? What sort of issues should I be expecting when I go the court? Thanks for all your help fellas.

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**A: what kind of so called friends are you hanging with?

Concerning the DUI- given the circumstances, a blood test is not even needed. Why? Beacuse you admitted the crime. Further, your impression that you 'passed' the field sobriety tests is just that, your impression... How would you know if you passed the HGN test?

Concerning the open container- It was open... Thats a no brainer.

Do you have a time machine? You don't. Well, then it really is too late to keep your mouth shut.

xylene said:

Concerning the DUI- given the circumstances, a blood test is not even needed. Why? Beacuse you admitted the crime. Further, your impression that you 'passed' the field sobriety tests is just that, your impression... How would you know if you passed the HGN test?

Concerning the open container- It was open... Thats a no brainer.

Do you have a time machine? You don't. Well, then it really is too late to keep your mouth shut.

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I know I passed the tests because I know how to count. I know how to walk straight. I know how to touch my nose etc etc. I WAS NOT UNDER THE INFLUENCE. I dont know what you are talking about when you said I admitted to the crime? By sayind i smoked 6 hours ago doesnt mean I am under the influence. I was clearly not drunk. The test said so. I am guilty of the open container I understand that. But what about the DUI. There is no real proof is there?

I asked for advice not criticism about my friends or a talk about a time machine. Get real people. I understand I made mistake. No need to repremand me.

teknotikal said:

I know I passed the tests because I know how to count. I know how to walk straight. I know how to touch my nose etc etc. I WAS NOT UNDER THE INFLUENCE. I dont know what you are talking about when you said I admitted to the crime? By sayind i smoked 6 hours ago doesnt mean I am under the influence. I was clearly not drunk. The test said so. I am guilty of the open container I understand that. But what about the DUI. There is no real proof is there?

I asked for advice not criticism about my friends or a talk about a time machine. Get real people. I understand I made mistake. No need to repremand me.

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admitting to the crime???? UMMMMMMMMMMMM last time I checked smoking marijuana was illegal, 6 hours ago, or 6 days ago.

fairisfair said:

admitting to the crime???? UMMMMMMMMMMMM last time I checked smoking marijuana was illegal, 6 hours ago, or 6 days ago.

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But i was charged with DUI. Not smoking marijuana. There is no proof of me driving under the influence. I know I admitted to smoking but my driving abilities were not compromised because I smoked 6 hours ago.

teknotikal said:

But i was charged with DUI. Not smoking marijuana. There is no proof of me driving under the influence. I know I admitted to smoking but my driving abilities were not compromised because I smoked 6 hours ago.

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you admitted to smoking....a DUI is not specific to alchol...you can be under the influence of any number of things.....

eme76 said:

you admitted to smoking....a DUI is not specific to alchol...you can be under the influence of any number of things.....

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But the question is if I was under the influnece or not right? I admitted to smoking I understand. I was given a sobriety test. Is that not a good indicator of my driving abilities? Besides me admitting to smoking(6 hours before and the effects clearly have worn off) is there any other proof? I just dont see how I can be charged with DUI just because I said something that doesnt apply to the present situation.

teknotikal said:

But the question is if I was under the influnece or not right? I admitted to smoking I understand. I was given a sobriety test. Is that not a good indicator of my driving abilities? Besides me admitting to smoking(6 hours before and the effects clearly have worn off) is there any other proof? I just dont see how I can be charged with DUI just because I said something that doesnt apply to the present situation.

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OMG....is Carl around....Carl...CARL....will you come make this person understand

BigMistakeFl

You can't fight the open container part of it. As for the DUI, why did the cop pull you over? He must have had a reason to suspect you of being impaired. That's what the prosecution will have to prove. Seek the advice of a DUI defense lawyer. The first meeting is most often free.

BigMistakeFl said:

You can't fight the open container part of it. As for the DUI, why did the cop pull you over? He must have had a reason to suspect you of being impaired. That's what the prosecution will have to prove. Seek the advice of a DUI defense lawyer. The first meeting is most often free.

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Good advice, too bad the OP is already confident the Police saw the open container (seems like a good reason for a stop...)

BigMistakeFl

I'm guessing that the cop saw the open container after the stop. A friend of my son's had that situation; amazing that someone could let that happen, hmmm?

Anyway, my question is why the cop pulled him over in the first place. It's possible that they passed the cop and were in the middle of taking a big draw on a beer can and the cop actually saw it and the can label, but I'm guessing there's more to the story than we've read here.

teknotikal said:

I was not drunk at all but I was driving and he started doing sobriety tests and I did not make a single mistake.

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So you think. But, you don't know what we are trained to look for ... it is NOT just the counting. There are a number of "cues" that we are trained to look for during these tests. They are called "divided attention" tests for a reason.

A week later I check the result of my blood test and I had a blood alcohol level of .00% yes .00%

My question is can I fight it? I mean from the sobriety tests clearly I was not under the influence. I had no alcohol in my system. I was not in possession of anything. I was not DUI. Dont I have to be proven guilty without a shadow of a doubt? A blood test is not proof of anything.

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No. The standard is "beyond a reasonable doubt". Plus, you CAN be DUI on drugs (and marijuana IS a drug). All the officer has to demonstrate is impairment and the presence of drugs in your system. And, depending on your court, if the THC content is sufficiently high, it could be a rebuttable presumption that you were high at the time and thus DUI.


- Carl

eme76 said:

OMG....is Carl around....Carl...CARL....will you come make this person understand

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heh ... got your PM.

- carl

CdwJava said:

heh ... got your PM.

- carl

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thank you
hopefuly he will get it now