You must remember when a law enforcement officer pulls you over on suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI), they may record their interaction with you using their body-worn camera. This is to say that you must be overly cautious with any action you take and any statement you make. Specifically, this applies when a law enforcement officer questions whether or not you were drinking before you got behind the wheel. Continue reading to learn how to respond if an officer asks if you have been drinking and how a skilled Gloucester County DWI lawyer at The Vigilante Law Firm, P.C. can represent you during this critical time.
What should I do if an officer asks if I have been drinking?
When a law enforcement officer approaches your vehicle and asks you, “Have you been drinking tonight?”, you should not feel obligated to answer. Rather, you must know that it is your constitutional right to remain silent. Or, if you feel pressured to act politely, you may state that your lawyer has advised you to decline to answer.
If you, in fact, had not consumed alcohol in the hours before your operating a vehicle, you may honestly answer the officer with “no.” However, you must not blur the truth or flat-out lie. That is, saying that you only had one drink with dinner when you consumed plenty more. Or, saying that you did not so much as have a sip of alcohol when you actually finished a whole drink. This is because the officer may easily catch you in a lie after conducting a breathalyzer test on you. With this, they may charge you with obstruction of justice, which is considered an illegal influence or prevention of the officer’s work.
What else should I remember during my traffic stop?
Even though you have the right to remain silent during your traffic stop, you must still act agreeably with the law enforcement officer. That is, you must still provide the officer with your driver’s license, vehicle registration, and proof of auto insurance when they request it of you. Here, there may be no harm in answering their questions regarding your name, age, address, etc.
Then, you must still blow into a breathalyzer device when they ask you to. This may be in addition to stepping out of your vehicle and performing certain field sobriety tests they ask of you. And if they decide to arrest you at the end of all this, you must not resist their orders.
Contact one of the experienced New Jersey & Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyers to gain the emotional and legal support you require during this pivotal time. Our team at The Vigilante Law Firm, P.C. looks forward to helping you.
