re: OT drunks and lawyers: is there ever a situation where you consent to breathalyzer?

I was driving home one rainy night after a few (2-4) beers with friends. I wasn’t trashed but I definitely shouldn’t have been driving. I took a curve too fast and went off the road and through someone’s yard and hit a bird house they had by a flower bed. In the process I blew out my right front tire. I was less than a quarter mile from my house so I limped it on home on the rim. Parked in the driveway, looked at the rim and decided to deal with it in the morning, and went inside and went to sleep. I wake up about an hour later to a county cop banging on my wall telling me to get up (my roommate let him in). He asked me where I had been that night and what happened to my truck. Told him I didn’t know. He cuffed me right there in my living room. He continued to ask me what had happened and I continued to say I couldn’t recall/I didn’t know every time. He put me in the back of the patrol car, he got in and said “first things first, you have the right to remain silent...” I told him I understood my rights and he asked again where I had been. By this point I think to hell with it I’m already going to jail. So I told him where I had been. When he asked how much alcohol I had I asked “am I being charged with a DUI?” He said “not at this time.” So I replied “well I don’t want to answer anymore questions without my lawyer.” He put his clip board down and took me to jail. When it was all said and done I was charged with Failure to notify owner upon striking a fixture (class 3 misdemeanor and $125 ticket) and spent 4 hours in holding. I fully believe the “no questions without my lawyer” comment saved me from a dui.

I realized how lucky I got and it actually straightened me up.

These days it doesn’t really matter. They’ve legislated the benefit out of not blowing. When you don’t blow, you’re pretty much pleading guilty or at least making it very difficult on yourself in the courtroom. But, if you know you’re drunk and you blow anyway, you’re 99.9% getting the DWI. If you don’t blow, you’re getting a DWI 95% of the time. So yeah, I guess not blowing earns you about 4% better shot.

Btw, all those numbers were made up but I bet it’s very close to that and I have a good bit of knowledge about such things.

You got a problem, pal??

With what?

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