Virginia DUI investigation time can be a frustratingly lonely time

Virginia DUI investigation time can feel like strange territory at best, and highly stressful at the next level. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I know that you should not expect court relief for police refusal to let you consult with a lawyer before deciding whether to conduct field sobriety tests, to blow into the portable preliminary breath test (PBT) machine, and to consent or not to providing a breath or blood sample to test for your blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Every step of your DUI investigation, arrest, and court prosecution filing can at once feel scary, lonely, frustrating, and without your having much if any control over the situation. If you are going to drive / operate a motor vehicle after consuming beer, alcohol, liquor or wine, or after ingesting medication (whether by prescription or over the counter, and hopefully not possessed illegally), it is all the more important for you to know the ideas covered in this article. If you already are a Virginia DUI defendant being prosecuted for allegedly driving under the influence of beer, wine, alcohol, drugs or medicine against Virginia Code § 18.2-266, you will want also to read this article for integrating it into your defense in court.

Defanging a Virginia DUI investigation by asserting your right to say no

Even with a stop for allegedly speeding a few miles an hour over the speed limit — which can possibly escalate into a Virginia DUI investigation — you will experience the law enforcement officer (LEO) exercising as much control as s/he can from the get go. You will see this in the way that the police officer takes his or her time in getting out of the LEO cruiser, often after first checking whether your vehicle is reported stolen, or whether the vehicle’s owner has any open arrest warrants in Virginia or beyond. You will notice how the police officer often stands a bit behind you so that if you wanted to look the officer straight in the eye, you would be turning your body a good angle to do that. (Although police might like to report lack of eye contact made with the suspect, the foregoing angle issue can contribute to that, on top of  the lack of an obligation for police suspects to make eye contact with LEO. When you know your right to say no to the police (in terms of your Fifth Amendment Constitutional right to remain silent with police and Fourth Amendment right to refuse searches, on top of your right to refuse any field sobriety testing and to decline to submit to a PBT test), you are interrupting the rhythm of the police officer taking full control of the situation. The goal should not be to break that rhythm, rather than this rhythm-interfering being a result of such refusal. Such refusal can defang an otherwise potentially more powerful case against you.

Why will police not even let me as a Virginia DWI suspect even go to the restroom before completing a DWI investigation?

The times are legion for me to witness in Virginia DUI investigation police video footage where the LEO declines my clients’ pleas to be permitted to go to the bathroom. The police cannot stop a suspect from urinating in their pants, and may offer for you to urinate on the street, for instance with your car door blocking people from seeing your exposed crotch. However, do not expect LEO to actually let you visit a restroom before the investigation is completed. On a similar note, do not expect Virginia police to let you have anything to drink — or even water with which to rinse out your mouth — before completing the DWI investigation of you.

When can I finally contact a lawyer to defend me against a Virginia DWI prosecution?

By the time your Virginia DUI investigation is completed — meaning by the time you are brought to wait to see a court magistrate — the only right and just and due process-following thing is for you to be permitted to call a lawyer, or your family to obtain a lawyer. However, before you finish blowing into the breathalyzer testing machine or get brought to the hospital to submit to blood testing, expect the possibility that you will not yet be permitted a phone call to a lawyer nor to your family nor friend(s). Prohibiting you from having contact with your family and friends for such a long time can give them anxiety about your whereabouts and wellbeing, and can give you anxiety about their potential anxiety. The key is for you to stay focused on protecting your rights, while knowing that you will ultimately be permitted communication to a lawyer, and to your family and friend(s).

Once I am permitted to contact a DUI defense lawyer, what questions should I ask that attorney?

Subsequent to your arrest after this Virginia DUI investigation, ask the questions that are right for you when consulting with a private Virginia criminal defense lawyer after your arrest on your Virginia DUI investigation, possibly including the following: Why do you handle such cases? What is the depth and breadth of your experience with experts witnesses? Are you a member of the NCDD (National College for DUI Defense) or a similar organization? (Jon Katz is a member). Have you been trained by a top field sobriety testing instructor to LEO’s, to administer field sobriety tests to people who have consumed alcohol? .

Fairfax DUI lawyer  Jon Katz relentlessly fights for your best possible court outcome. Find out for yourself through an initial free in-person confidential consultation about your court pending case, by calling 703-383-110o.