Being arrested for a DUI can be scary and confusing. In this video, Attorney Joshua Kaizuka explains what happens during a DUI arrest. To learn more about the DUI process in Sacramento, CA visit www.kaizukalaw.com To learn more about what happens after you're arrested for driving under the influence, visit • What happens after you...
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Transcript
I'm going to talk a little bit about the first contacts that you might have when you get arrested for a DUI. Typically DUI stops happen at night at times which I call, or people call, the "bewitching hour." It's when people are out drinking. It could be holidays, weekends, Thursdays. A lot of times, if you're out driving when bars close, cops are going to be looking for any reason to pull somebody over. Typically the reasons for pulling people over, according to police, is that they're weaving, not staying in their lanes, maybe driving too slow, driving too fast, not stopping at a limit line, running a red light, any reason that they can have to pull you over.
Once you're stopped, officers will start asking you questions. They'll ask, "Have you been drinking tonight?" Unfortunately, a lot of people say, "Yeah, I have." Red flag for cops. They'll sit there and talk about how somebody's eyes are red and watery; there's odor of alcohol; their speech may be slurred. Of course, cops have never talked to this person before, so they don't know if the person's just tired, with red eyes, or maybe they speak a little bit in a way that a police officer may think it's slurred speech.
In any event, they'll ask the person to come out of the car and they'll have them do standardized field sobriety tests. You may have heard of them, FSTs. They'll start doing what's called a "horizontal gaze nystagmus," and they check your eyes to see if they run smoothly, if they're jerky or not. There are certain steps they're supposed to take with instructions. The next test that they'll probably do is what's called a "walk and turn," and that's where they have somebody walk heel-to-toe nine steps forward, turn around, come back nine steps. The last one that they're supposed to do is a one-leg stand. They'll give instructions on how you're supposed to raise your leg, how far off the ground your foot's supposed to be, and they'll look for clues.
After those tests are done, they'll sit there and say, "Well, would you mind blowing into a preliminary alcohol screening device?" Most people do. If they blow anywhere near a .08 or higher, typically that person's arrested. Under California law anyone with a driver's license, basically a privilege to drive, they're supposed to provide what's called a "chemical" test. The PAS test is not the chemical test. The chemical test can be a breath test, a blood test, and in certain circumstances, it could be a urine test.
Once you're arrested, in most counties, since it's a misdemeanor, especially on a first-time DUI, you'll get a court date, and they'll release you. In some counties they'll make you post bail before they release you.
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Law Office of Joshua Kaizuka
2530 J St #320
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 706-0678
www.kaizukalaw.com/