What to do if pulled over for DUI? Arizona Criminal Lawyer

Hi i'm David Cantor with the Law Offices of David Michael Cantor and welcome to Arizona Criminal Law TV. What i'm going to talk to you about today is what to do if your stopped for a DUI, I get asked this question all the time. If an officer stops you and says sir have you been drinking the answer you're going to give is the same answer you'd give to sir did you rob a bank or sir did you kill ten people you're going to say i'm not going to answer any questions or do any tests until I talk to my lawyer. Now by saying that you didn't lie and you didn't confess. You said let me talk to my lawyer.

Now if the officer gets you out and says let me look at your eyes, follow the light, follow the pen, you say stop am I free to go officer because if i'm not then I want to talk to my lawyer don't do any field sobriety test don't do the eye test don't answer questions just simply say I wish to talk to my lawyer. Now if he says i'm going to have to arrest you because I smell alcohol, he was going to arrest you anyway.

You say whatever but i need to talk to my lawyer he'll take you down to the station you call preferably us and we'll talk to you then i'll ask you for sample your blood. In Arizona if you don't provide the sample you lose your license for a year and on top of that, they'll get a warrant and they'll draw your blood forcibly if they have to so we normally say on a first offense go ahead and give that blood sample and then ask to be released to go to the hospital and get an independent blood test. Normally they'll cut loose you get into a cab and you can go get that test if you wish.

In essence the officer can now say I saw him weve once I pulled him over he smelled of alcohol he gave me a blood sample and I released him. That's all the officer will be able to tell a jury can't comment on your right to remain silent because that's your fifth amendment right so it limits their evidence down to just whatever the chemical test is keep in mind it's always better to reduce the evidence that you're giving them because they will say I saw x, Y and Z and they will tend to stretch what they saw or exaggerate and that's always a problem so if you simply say, nope I wish to talk to my lawyer it greatly reduces what they can claim that you did that night