I shouldn’t have blown at the roadside or taken the field sobriety tests

You say I shouldn’t have blown at the roadside or taken the field sobriety tests?

Phil Weinberg Defense Attorney

What if I did, just trying to be cooperative with the cops? Am I stuck with it now? Breath tests are often suppressible if they were not properly administered, maintained, calibrated, etc. It’s technical scientific stuff. Likewise, the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (“SFST’s”) can often be successfully challenged in court with pretrial motions. Even admissions that you foolishly but cooperatively made to the officers can often be suppressed (excluded) under certain circumstances. I got Issaquah Municipal Court DUI breath testing and field tests suppressed a while back for inappropriate police procedures in administering these tests. I recently appealed a King County Redmond District Court case where the police made a bad stop of a vehicle and did not properly advise the client when stopping him. In another case I have now, the police gave a lady from Lynnwood field sobriety tests after she had a concussion from a high-impact collision in a Snohomish County South District Court Lynnwood case. She was way too cooperative and made a series of apologetic admissions that I am going to try to suppress. Taking the roadside field sobriety tests, the portable breath tests and talking to the police at the scene, in the patrol vehicle or at the station, including participating cooperatively by agreeing to answer their 31-question “DUI Interview” at the police station are all big mistakes. Many clients make these mistakes and so I must immediately spot and start working on those issues, often bringing motions to suppress. Failing to ask for an attorney – to Demand one, is another common mistake. People – you have constitutional rights; please do not give them up so easily. The only cure for having done that, though, if there is going to be one, is to immediately retain competent criminal defense counsel.