Your Rights During an Anne Arundel DUI Stop
It is not uncommon for people to get flustered and nervous after they have been stopped and pulled over by police. They understand that they should be polite and respectful to the police, and do not want to aggravate their situation any further. However, individuals still have rights even when they have been stopped by police. One of the most important rights a person should remember they have is the right to refuse to perform Field Sobriety Tests. People have the right to not give any kind of incriminating evidence, they have the right to not answer certain officer questions, and they have the right to speak to an attorney at some point during the arrest. To fully understand your rights and to protect yourself, call an experienced Anne Arundel DUI attorney for help as soon as possible.
Refusing Field Sobriety Tests
Individuals can and should refuse to perform standardized Field Sobriety Tests in Anne Arundel County. These tests are designed to give the officer probable cause to arrest a person for DUI. They are not really fair tests. Their purpose is to give the officer a reason to arrest someone. It is in a person’s best interests to refuse to do standardized Field Sobriety Tests.
Refusing a BAC Test
While individuals are permitted to refuse a BAC test, a refusal can trigger a different set of penalties for the individual’s drivers license than agreeing to do the test. The penalties for a refusal actually are very similar to the penalties for a high blow, which is blowing in excess of .15. Therefore, it may be in an individual’s best interest to refuse to do a test rather than blowing in excess of .15.
Your Rights During and After a DUI Arrest
People have the right to either submit to or to refuse the breathalyzer test and each of those decisions will carry different penalties against their driver’s license. Individuals do have the right to speak to an attorney prior to answering any questions. They also have the right to speak to an attorney prior to submitting to a breath test. If they can get in contact with an experienced DUI attorney in Anne Arundel County, the attorney can advise them on what option may be best for their situation.
Role of Miranda Rights in Anne Arundel DUI Stops
Miranda advisements are usually not an issue in most DUI cases. Miranda applies to a custodial interrogation. There are two parts to that. One is custody. Once an individual is arrested at that point their Miranda Rights accrue.
Since most Anne Arundel DUI instances actually occur prior to an arrest. The officer is going to base the DUI case on the stop, the driving that led up to the stop, the individual’s demeanor when the officer first made contact and then any kind of Field Sobriety Tests that the individual agreed to perform. None of those are covered by Miranda because according to the law you are not in custody during any of those phases of the investigation.
After you are arrested frequently the only thing that the officer will ask you to do at that point is submit to a breathalyzer test and submission to a breathalyzer test is not an interrogation for purposes of Miranda. Miranda as a general rule doesn’t apply to DUI cases although there are always exceptions.