DUI & Criminal FAQs

You must:

· Show your driver’s license

· Show your car’s registration

· Show proof of insurance 

· Allow the officer to see the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)

· Allow the officer to inspect the car for mechanics and safety

· Get out and stand by the side of your car

· Let the officer search the passenger compartment for weapons

You are NOT required to:

· Consent to any search (other than the passenger compartment)

· Tell the officer where you’ve been or where you’re going

· Disclose if you’ve been drinking, or how much you’ve had to drink

· Submit to any roadside field sobriety tests

If arrested, officers can pat you down and search your person. 

Peacefully go along with the arrest. The officer will usually tell you you’re being arrested and read you your Miranda rights. 

If arrested, officers can pat you down and search your person. 

Peacefully go along with the arrest. The officer will usually tell you you’re being arrested and read you your Miranda rights. 

You are NOT required to blow at the roadside; however, you will have to blow back at the police station, or you’ll lose your license. That’s the “implied consent law”—meaning when you get your driver’s license, you implied consent to blowing when requested by police, or else you agree to forfeit your license.

If arrested, officers can pat you down and search your person. 

Peacefully go along with the arrest. The officer will usually tell you you’re being arrested and read you your Miranda rights. 

Deferred prosecution allows a person charged with DUI to avoid a conviction and jail time by completing a multi-year, intensive treatment program. Upon successful completion, the DUI charge may be dismissed.

If police contact you and you haven't been charged, politely decline to answer any questions and consult a criminal defense attorney immediately. Do not make any statements, explanations, or denials. Anything you say can be used against you, and "talking your way out of it" rarely works.

Unless officers have a judge-signed arrest warrant or search warrant, or there is an emergency that legally allows immediate action without a warrant, you generally do not have to let them into your home or even open the door.

If they call, you do not have to answer, or you can politely decline to answer any questions. 

Yes, you have the constitutional right to refuse a warrantless search of your phone, car, or home. You can politely decline by stating, "I do not consent to a search," which protects you by forcing police to prove they have legal justification (like a warrant or probable cause) before searching. 

Exercise your right to remain silent. Avoid destroying any evidence, and hire a criminal defense attorney immediately.