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Common Police Errors In DUI Stops

Posted by Ronald D. Hedding | Sep 11, 2018

If you have a DUI pending in Los Angeles County and you're looking for ways to fight it, you should look out for some of the mistakes that the police make in these DUI stops.

It's crucial to understand that the police can't stop someone without a valid reason. Whether it's late at night or a weekend, if it can be proven that the stop was unjustified, the entire case can be dismissed.

The stop will be illegal. The breath/blood result will be thrown out. Any statements that they make will be thrown out. Any observations by the police will be thrown out.

The first and most critical mistake the police can make is an unjustified stop. They are aware of this, and if they can't justify the stop, the case is at risk of being dismissed.

So what do they do? They come up with a reason every single time, and they can come up with all sorts of different reasons. Maybe you didn't signal. You were swerving. That's the best one – that you were shifting. You're constantly swerving.

I mean, how do you refute some of these things? It's going to be your word against the police, and if it turns out that your blood alcohol level was over .07, a judge or a jury is going to believe the police most of the time.

Now, some good things have been happening, though, with DUI laws as far as some of the common issues and mistakes that the police make. A lot of police vehicles are now equipped with dash cams, providing concrete evidence to refute claims. If the dashcam is on and it doesn't show you swerving or not signaling, you have a strong defense.

Another thing that's happening is body cams. Many police officers in Los Angeles County wear body cams, so that's another way to catch them. If they don't indicate when they talk to you on the body cam, they stop you because you didn't signal.

However, it's important to note that both dashcams and body cams are susceptible to manipulation. For instance, a dashcam might conveniently miss the stop, or a body cam might focus on the steering wheel, obscuring the stop. These are tactics used by the police to win cases, even if it means not always telling the truth.

Despite these challenges, it's important to remember that the truth will prevail. There are ways to counter these manipulations, and with the right legal strategy, you can still win your case.

Incorrect Chemical Testing

Another common policy mistake that I see more and more during these drug/marijuana DUI stops is that the police have the people do alcohol-related tests. That doesn't test for marijuana or drugs.

So, that's another way to attack them. You say, wait a minute. If you thought the guy was intoxicated, he couldn't safely operate a motor vehicle—why are you having him do the wrong test?

Have a DRE (Drug Recognition Expert) come out to the scene or bring him to the station to the DRE and let the DRE talk to them, look at them, and conduct some tests that might relate to being intoxicated because of marijuana or intoxicated by some other drug.

So, that's another mistake that they make. They're using the wrong test. That's an area where you can get them, especially when your client blows zeros on the breath machine. Why are you having him walk the line if he's blowing zeros? He doesn't have any alcohol in his system.

It's unfortunate that the police write the report after putting things together. They're not going to say, "We did the field sobriety test, and he passed it." They don't even mention it sometimes in the report. So, that's another mistake to look for.

Police Don't Understand DUI Refusal Law

Another mistake in DUI cases in Los Angeles is that the police don't understand the refusal law. The bottom line is that driving is a privilege and not a right. So, if the police think you're intoxicated and ask you to take one of the tests – the blood test or the breath test – to detect a DUI, you need to take one of the tests.

If you don't, it's a refusal. However, there are specific rules related to denials. Here's where the mistake comes in. You have to tell the person once they say that you're considering a refusal for a DUI; you have to say, okay, if you don't take the test, you'll lose your driver's license for a year. They have to read them a form and then write down exactly what they say under penalty of perjury.

Often, the police are not doing that, so that's another common mistake. They don't tell the person they'll lose their driver's license for a year. If you can prove that either by way of a witness, body cam evidence, or whatever, they have a big problem because now they have no breath test, no blood test. They're relying on the refusal to get the person for the case, which works, assuming that the denial is made the right way. So, that's another common mistake that the police make.

Police Don't Determine Time of Driving.

Another common mistake is that you have to be driving to have a DUI in Los Angeles County. When the police come upon somebody, they're out of the car. They're walking somewhere. They're pulled over on the side of the freeway.

The big mistake they can make, and I've won cases, is not asking the person when they stopped there. Then how could you ever figure out when the person was driving the car unless you have a witness or the police can claim without seeing anything before, which is they went by that freeway twenty minutes ago, and the person wasn't stopped there?

Again, they always have some trick to try to get out of it. But that's another common mistake the police make in DUI cases in LA County. They don't pinpoint when the driving occurred. There's no way for their expert to extrapolate backward to say what the person's blood-alcohol level was for purposes of a DUI at the time of the driving if they don't know when the driving occurred. That's another crucial mistake that can be made.

Different mistakes can be made, and many of them depend on the facts of the case. So, if you have a DUI in LA County and you're looking for mistakes police may have made, give me a call. We'll sit down and go over everything, and I'll give you an honest rundown of what I think of your DUI case.

About the Author

Ronald D. Hedding

What Makes Ronald Hedding Uniquely Qualified To Represent You? I've been practicing criminal defense for almost 30 years and have handled thousands of cases, including all types of state and federal sex crime cases. All consultations are discreet and confidential.

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Hedding Law Firm is committed to answering your questions about DUI law issues in California and throughout the United States.

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