I got a DUI while trying to sleep one off in my car.

REAL. wrote:

OP, do you regret not driving home now?

The law is often quite hypocritical.

No outs wrote:

Big mistake taking the breathalyzer test. Should have just let them take you to jail. You could have argued you were too tired to drive.

Good idea. But if you refuse a test, don't they consider you guilty?

Otherwise, every drunk driver would refuse to be tested.

MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:

Unregistered username.

3/10

Most of us here are unregistered.

OP, next time sleep in the trunk. The police will never know you're in there fast asleep.

around here if you go to 90 aa meetings in 90 days the judge will expunge your record on first offense.

Interesting ... wrote:

No outs wrote:

Big mistake taking the breathalyzer test. Should have just let them take you to jail. You could have argued you were too tired to drive.

Good idea. But if you refuse a test, don't they consider you guilty?

Otherwise, every drunk driver would refuse to be tested.

No. Refusing only gives a mandatory license suspension.

The criminal exposure of DUI would have been nearly impossible to prove.

How it goes wrote:

No. Refusing only gives a mandatory license suspension.

The criminal exposure of DUI would have been nearly impossible to prove.

How long would they keep him locked up, and how long would the license be suspended?

In some states the keys do not even need to be IN the ignition. They need to be within a certain distance of the ignition triggering an intent to drive under the influence.

Passed out in my vehicle plenty of times but those keys always stay in the backseat or further away. I have been around some super shady cops who cherry pick the parking lots at restaurants and pubs, profile young 20 somethingd and force citations and tickets.

Get ready to fork out and waste a ton of money on legal fees and court ordered expenses. I suggest you purchase your own pbt device by bactrack - the S80. Keep it in your vehicle and check yourself so you dont get a second. Also helps you to regulate and drive with confidence.

Regardless of the law... This was up to the cops discretion. The cop was power tripping and being a total dick. He could have waited for you to shift out of park or start rolling away. He probably gets a bonus for saving the world from dangerous vehicular air conditioning though.

This is why cops are worthless.

No outs wrote:

Big mistake taking the breathalyzer test. Should have just let them take you to jail. You could have argued you were too tired to drive.

Only in the USA would you need to do something like that. The rest of the world the cops are either understanding or at least willing to take a small bribe.

This is your tax for being dumb. Maybe take some personal responsibility for your life now instead of blaming others.

Interesting ... wrote:

No outs wrote:

Big mistake taking the breathalyzer test. Should have just let them take you to jail. You could have argued you were too tired to drive.

Good idea. But if you refuse a test, don't they consider you guilty?

Otherwise, every drunk driver would refuse to be tested.

If breathalyzer is refused, most likely will suffer consequences with DMV. Loss of driver license for one year. Five years of very expensive high risk auto insurance. Law enforcement most likely will still move forward with criminal case. Law enforcement will say: 1) Slurred speech; 2) watery bloodshot eyes; 3) general lack of coordination; 4) strong oder of alcohol; 5) belligerent attitude.

It takes a lot of gusto to move forward with a D.U.I. trial for a defendant. Three or so members of law enforcement will walk into court in their dress blues and say you were drunk. Forty or so minutes of cross-examination would not be easy. A 35 or 40 year old prosecutor may have been doing said type of trials for ten or fifteen years. This most likely will be your first trial.

In order to win at trial, said defendant is going to have to lie under oath and either deny drinking &/or drugging or admit to consuming an amount of alcohol or drugs less than one actually consumed. If your attorney is good, said attorney may find error(s) by law enforcement and the case may be dismissed. Good attorneys are not necessarily inexpensive.

" a cop smashed on my window " For real? Was it necessary to smash the window? WTH!

How does intent matter? What if you intended to drive but failed? Maybe someone stole your battery and the car wouldn’t start. The law is “Driving” under the influence, not “intending to drive,” or “almost driving.” What if you’re drunk, the car is started and in drive, but it’s on jack stands with no wheels. You’re not drunk driving, you’re drunk trying to drive.

Solution....have you friends as witnesses to establish when you left the house, to make the point you had not changed locations in hours. Point out the car was in park.

The engine serves other purposes than driving....radio, climate control, battery charging. The window opening argument holds no water if you consider the winter. You can’t open the window to heat the car. What if it’s -30f and you are choiced with driving drunk or freezing to death?

You are making good arguments for your trial.

Those arguments will not keep you from getting arrested.

If you have enough money or if you have good friends or good relatives who will bail you out, great.

You may have to be willing to sit in jail for a few weeks if you cannot make bail to make those great arguments.

You still will have to face cross-examination at trial if your attorney cannot get your case dismissed.

1) This is a law common to many states (I've lived in quite a few). I tell my Soldiers to put your keys in the trunk if you're going to "sleep one off" in the car.

2) Don't blame the officer. He is doing his job by arresting you and enforcing the law. Your state legislators and your governor passed/signed the law. Only person you can blame is the man in the mirror.

Office of the Law wrote:

If the key is in the ignition and the car is on, you are operating a motor vehicle...regardless of whether car is "in park". The Supreme Court has ruled as such. Don't blame the officer for your mistakes...my advice would be to hire a good DUI attorney.

Lol. When did the U.S. Supreme Court issue a holding on the meaning of every state's DUI statutes?

I know someone who got a DUI under similar circumstances.

He was drunk and it was cold out so he called a taxi and then sat in his passenger seat and started the car for the heater. Despite the fact that the taxi showed up, the cops arrested him anyway.

The crime is called a dui colloquially, but (I can’t speak for your particular state) generally is worded much more particularly than just driving drunk.