Arkansas DUI Steps of Arrest

First Fact to Know: The first thing that every licensed driver out there has to know is that you can be pulled over for any reason, in order for an officer to check to see if you are driving under the influence of alcohol. 80% of the time, after being pulled over and given their reason for pulling you over, such as slight speeding, swurving, having a light out, or any other suspicious activity in their mind, they will let you go with a warning. The reason for that is because they pulled you over with the suspicion of a DUI. An officer of the law can not legally pull you over with the excuse of "I pulled you over because I suspected you were drunk." That would make for too many lawsuits against the law agencies of the country for every time they were wrong.

When they walk up to your window, and if it's a case where you had been drinking, the first question out of his mouth will be, "Have you had anything to drink tonight." This is one of those questions that no matter what, be honest with them because they smell the alcohol on your breath, or else they wouldn't have asked you. Depending upon your actions, the next part can go a couple different ways. The officer will either give you a warning for the reason he stopped you and let you go on your way, or he will ask you to step out of your vehicle. If he asks you to step out of your vehicle, that's bad, because that means he is convinced you are in fact over the legal limit of blood-alcohol content, which is only .08% in New Hampshire, and is looking for more evidence to use against you if arrested.

Field Sobriety Tests

The first thing you should know about these tests is even sober, are difficult to pull off.

Vision Test: The first test they will perform will be to test the reaction time and focusing of your vision. With a small pen light or something similar, they'll have you stare at it for about a minute straight as they move the pen from side to side, up and down. The officer is watching your eyes to see if there is a delay from the time the pen is moved to the time you react, as well as checking for laziness in your eyes which is a side-effect of alcohol in the system.

Motor Functions: The next test is to see, basically, if you are physically able to walk a straight line, pivot on one foot, and walk back to the starting location. An important part to realize through all of this is if you deviate from their instructions the slightest bit, they will use that against you upon prosecution. During this test, the officer will be watching several things. The first is if you walk with your feet facing straight ahead, or if they are facing outward/inward. Alcohol effects the equilibrium in your brain and makes it more difficult to judge distance, direction, balance, etc. He'll also watch to see how high you raise your arms for balance. Even though the officer will never say whether you can use your arms or not, if you raise your arms higher than 35%, they will also count that against you. When you get to the end and pivot, they will watch to see if you pivoted on the one foot as instructed, if you swayed while pivoting, if you lost your balance, if the height of your arms changed, etc. He'll watch for similar things as you walk back to the starting location.

Balance: Standing on one foot, with your arms to your side, you have to count to 30 with a "mississippi" in between each number. A very important and unfair fact about this test is that field sobriety tests are always performed outside, in the elements. The officer will not take into account or be leniant on you because of weather or elements outside of your control. If you take longer to say one number than you did another or if you lose your balance at all, they will be counted against you.

Another Important Fact to Know: 90% of DUI arrests occur between 10PM and 3AM.

More than likely, if you've just gone through the Field Sobriety Tests, you are probably on your way to the police station right now for the breathilizer test. Now there are several myths out there about eating "pocket mints" or that having a penny in your mouth will fool the breathilizer into giving you a smaller score. Now whether either of those are true is not my place to say, but what I will say is that if the arresting officer becomes aware of you, in any way, trying to fool the test, you will be charged automatically with trying to mislead a law officer.

After you blow into the breathilizer and get your results, you will more than likely officially be charged with a DUI. Something you need to know though, is even though the legal limit of BAC in New Hampshire is .08, you can be arrested for a DUI even if you blow less than a .08. If the arresting officer believes, regardless of your BAC limit, that you were in fact driving impaired, than you will be charged with a DUI. Of course, if you are under the age of 21, ANY amount of BAC will land you a DUI and under-age consumption.

At this point, you will receive the date and time for your court date, since DUI's require a mandatory court appearance. They will also give you the option of having a friend/relative pick you up, or spending the night in jail. Your car will be impounded, which can be picked up at your expense at a later time, although know ahead of time that Impound Lots charge by the day.

Going into Court: When you get to court, you will have the option to be represented by a lawyer or represent yourself. If you get a lawyer, you will be schedule a 2nd court date and will have that length of time to find a lawyer. If you represent yourself, the judge proceeds with how you plead and sentencing and so forth.

Testimonial: As soon as I found out what the state-minimums were for punishments, I decided that I would just plead guilty and bite the bullet so to speak because no matter what I was going to end up with the 3 days in jail, 6 month license suspension, etc. Part of my sentencing was to attend an "Alcohol Counseling" program, at my expense. While talking to the counselors there, I was informed that Lawyers SHOULD ALWAYS be used in DUI cases. This was my very first DUI, I had a relatively harmless driving record up until this point, and with the assistance of a lawyer, could probably have gotten out of my jail time, and maybe even had the DUI dropped down to a non-alcohol related offense. I was furious when I heard this because if only someone had told me ahead of time, I wouldn't have had to go through everything I did, PLUS, it would have been cheaper to pay for the lawyer than all the costs and fees I had from the court. I know that I will never get another DUI because of how terrible they are to rebuild from, but if anyone I know ever gets one, I'm definitely going to make sure they get a lawyer, so they don't have to go through the torment and hardship that I did.