It’s Saturday night. Police want to arrest someone — a specific someone — for drunk driving.
He’s a regular at the local bar. They see his vehicle pull out of a parking lot a little after midnight.
The best defense attorneys ask questions that police don’t.
Police follow him, hoping to spot a traffic violation.
Two miles later, he is nearly home and he has broken no traffic laws. Police give up.
“He got away… again.”
The best attorneys understand that the effects of a criminal charge extend beyond the courtroom.
The police body camera clearly captures the disappointment in the officer’s voice.
What did he get away with?
Our criminal justice system guarantees a presumption of innocence. Police are not supposed to detain a person without, at a minimum, a reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity.
It is legal for a person (age 21 or older) to go to a bar. It is legal for that same person to drive home from the bar.
A good defense strategy should be designed to help you achieve your goals.
Driving becomes a problem if the person has had too much to drink.
But just leaving a bar and driving home, without more, s not a crime.
Can YOU drive two miles with NO traffic violations?
Police followed this driver for two miles, without observing a single traffic violation. That is some seriously safe driving.
“Fighting Hard” is not always the right answer. The best attorneys understand when a more strategic approach can be more effective.
Next time you’re in the passenger seat, watch the other drivers. See how many traffic violations you can spot.
How many people are driving at least a couple of miles per hour over the speed limit?
Do other drivers come to a 100% complete full stop at a stop sign?
Does the car in front of you signal for a full 2 seconds before a lane change, or do they skimp ands signal for only 1.7 seconds?
Do they signal before changing lanes or do they signal during the change?
Was he drinking? Was he the designated driver?
Police didn’t see him drinking.
They didn’t see anything that happened in the bar.
Mayne he was the designated driver.
Maybe he had a drink early in the evening and then spent the next few hours dancing while his BAC dropped back down.
What’s the goal?
He left the bar. He drove home safely.
Is the goal just to make arrests? Or is the purpose of law enforcement tto help us be safe.
If we keep score based just on how many arrests police make, then police lost this round.
But if points are earned when people drive carefully and get home safely, then everybody wins.
Drunk driving is dangerous. So is a society without Constitutional safeguards.
The streets are safer when people drive sober.
Police should keep a close eye on bar parking lots and keep drunk drivers off the streets And we should all be thankful for their good work.
But society becomes dangerous when we let go of the Constitutional safeguards that are intended to protect our freedom.
Drive safe. Drive sober. Insist that law enforcement officers respect the Constitution.
