About a month ago I was coming home and got into an accident hitting a light post. I was still able to drive my vehicle home and nobody was hurt. When I got home, my friends and I began to drink heavily. An hour or so passed and a cop showed up at my place because someone had called in the accident. The cop took me downtown and gave me a breathilizer. I blew .23, so obviously i was over the limit, but I wasnt driving, i was in my home. The cop arrested me for drunk driving and i went to jail. I was released without being charged, but i just found out today, almost a month later, that I have been charged. I am in the processes of finding a lawyer, but can they really charge me when I wast caught driving? I dont thinlk this case will hold up, what do u think? I honestly beleive that I was under the limit when i was infact driving, and how can they charge me with my BAC when I was obviouosly drinking alot at home? does anyone have an opinion?
2007-01-19 08:38:23 · 16 answers · asked by Andy R 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
More than likely, the police will have an expert available that can testify, based upon your ultimate test results, how much alcohol the body absorbs within a certain period of time.
So...if an hour passed since the accident...and your blood alcohol measured a relatively high percentage...you may have some problems.
Also, since there were witnesses to the accident, they may have had observations indicating you were intoxicated. You didn't mention it...but was there damage to the light pole which would be considered city property. Because there COULD have been damage there....another charge could be leaving the scene of an accident.
My suggestion is seek the advise of an attorney quickly!
Best wishes!
2007-01-19 08:48:57 · answer #1 · answered by KC V ™ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hmm, I was just riding on a turnip truck, but seem to have fallen off.
So, within an hour of getting home, you were already blowing a .23? And, you didn't start drinking until you got the house? Unfortunately, the body doesn't absorb acohol that quickly. That would mean that within a few minutes of being at the house, you would have had drink, or more likely chugged, about 11 beers, 11 1.5 oz shots of liquor, or about 11 4oz glasses of wine. If that were the case, one you need some help, and two, you would have likely been puking from consuming that much that quickly.
So, you left the scene of an accident, damaged either public property or private property, and were likley intoxicated while operating the vehicle. Yes, the case will likely stand up in court.
2007-01-19 10:10:34 · answer #2 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ah... The old "I didn't drink until after the accident" defense. I have seen several people try this one over my years in law enforcement and I have never seen it work. Most public defenders will not use it because it does not work. Private attorneys will likely try it if you are paying them since, after all, you are paying them to try. They will try most ANYTHING so long as the money keeps flowing. Plus you will likely find yourself paying two or three times what the fine would be just to hire an attorney that likely won't get you out of the charges anyway!
When people try this defense, prosecutors here bring in an expert that testifies how quickly alcohol is absorbed into the body after drinking it and how quickly it dissipates. This kind of expert testimony - usually from a doctor - will easily show that you could not possibly have gone from a state of sobriety to a BAC of .23 in an hour.
On top of that, if you push the issue, don't be surprised if the system pushes back with more charges such as hit and run, leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, etc.
Now might be the time to grow up, be accountable for your actions, and get on with your life.
2007-01-19 13:07:40 · answer #3 · answered by James P 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He could charge you with leaving the scene of an accident if he could tie the accident to the vehicle. Then if your were drunk he could try to get a DUI out of it.
Were you drinking after the accident because you were so nervous when you got home were you trying to drink your self into a positive stae of mind after basically ruining your car.
If you had not wrecked there would have been no way to arrest you however once your home your home.
Let me just say this they say you could have hurt someone and you apparently didn't, but I know a guy who got out of jai on a third offense and the first thing he did was wreck DUI and kill like 3 people.
You can make it home safe or yuo can kill someone it's a risk. .23 is about 3 times over the limt and if convicted you will go to jail for some period of time depending on the offense and also have to go to counseling to get your license back.
There are laws to get you out of the is mess, but I am not sure if I should tell you what they are, contact the locla magistrate court get your court date and hirer or request an attorney from the court.
This could be the beginning of you straightening up or going to jail and recovery to well just going to jail. There is no redo button in life.
2007-01-19 08:53:34 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they "released you without being charged," then you don't have a charge. You better check on that. Why would they release you without charging you if they thought you were driving while impaired? Either you're confused, or you're not telling us the whole story.
Also, in my state at least, you can still get a DWI if you are "under the legal limit." The legal limit is what triggers an automatic DWI charge, but if the state can show that you were impaired while driving, you can still be convicted, even if your BAC was under the legal limit.
Love Jack
2007-01-21 06:00:11 · answer #5 · answered by Jack 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
James P. nailed it. Sobriety to a .23 in an hour is nearly impossible.
Let's see. Using a regular can of beer or regular bottle of beer as our example, let's do the math. A regular beer puts you at around a .02 for each beer consumed per hour. That about 11-12 cans of beer in one hour. (Or 144 oz. of beer in 60 minutes)
Alcohol in your system dissipates at about .02 per hour; you can't change the rate, no matter what you try to do.
So, according to your story, the officer came over to your house, probably talked to you for a while, arrested you, took you out the car, drove to the police station, booked you, fingerprinted you, photographed you, set up the Breathalyzer, and then administered the test. All of this probably took between 60-90 minutes or more. That means before you were arrested, you were probably a .25 or more. That's about 14 cans (or 168 oz. of beer) in one hour.
I highly encourage you to spend gobs of money on a lawyer to present this defense in court. Please, instead of learning your lesson and thanking God you only hit a telephone pole and not a small child, keep lying to yourself and others about how you were wrongly charges and just hit a pole and then went home and drank it up with the boys.
Finally, when you are convicted, please enjoy the huge bill of wasted lawyer's fees+DUI conviction fines+restitution fees+alcohol class fees+high insurance rates+bus fare for a year or more.
Enjoy!
2007-01-19 19:28:14 · answer #6 · answered by gunsandammoatwork 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
wow, that's a SUPER tricky situation, but unfortunately, the odds are stacked against you. You have no proof of this at all. Even if they do drop the charges, you'll still be nailed for the hit and run. Also, I'd look into how fast BACs can rise after drinking several beverages in an hour...if it rises quickly you'll have a stronger argument. good luck!
2007-01-19 08:52:47 · answer #7 · answered by should be working 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Now, now. Are you definitely telling us the truth, that you didn't have a drop to drink until arriving home? -Or could it possibly be that you drank heavily at home as an excuse and to cover up the fact you'd already been drinking? We're not too bright here on Yahoo Answers, so you need to enlighten us on that.
Oh, that's right...You conveniently don't specifically say that you were stone cold sober until you got home.
2007-01-19 10:42:03 · answer #8 · answered by BuddyL 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I in no way had that difficulty...I even have in no way pushed inebriated and that i've got been utilising 40yrs. You endangered relatively some lives with your loss of stable judgement and drove intoxicated.You (and others) owe a debt of gratitude that the law enforcement officials stopped you and prevented a homicide.Take your due cowboy...you broke the regulation,and you broke the have confidence that all and sundry drivers count on...that those around us are sober and attentive to risk-free practices on the roads. Pay up!
2016-10-31 13:34:51 · answer #9 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's what you need to do. Find out from the police report what time the accident was called in. You can then explain what you told us and use your friends as witnesses. Sincee the officer did not witness the accident, you may be able to get away with it. Good luck
B-Cool
2007-01-19 08:59:23 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋