This is Part 19 of our weekly North Carolina Criminal Defense video blog: “What Should You Do When Stopped for DWI?“
Transcript:
The most important thing to remember with DWIs is that they’re very complex cases. The best way you can help yourself if you’ve been stopped for drinking and driving is to not give the officer any more evidence than you have to. The officer is going to approach your car and you are required by law to give them your license and registration. You are not required to do any field sobriety testing. You are not required to tell him or answer the question, “Where are you coming from?” or “How much have you had to drink?”
You’re really not required to do any of the field sobriety testing. As I tell my clients, I generally advise them not to do the field sobriety testing. Even if they can do 99 out of 100 things right, be sure that when the case goes to court the prosecutor is going to hammer you on the one thing that you did wrong and argue that is evidence of impairment. Just remember, you do have to provide your license and registration. You don’t have to answer any questions about where you’ve been or how much you’ve had to drink. You don’t have to do the officer’s tests. You don’t have to blow into anything until you get to the jail. The real question there is do you make the decision to blow into the actual breath test at the jail.
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