Rights During a Lexington DUI Stop

It is crucial that you understand your rights during a Lexington DUI stop. Knowing your rights is key to protecting yourself. If you have any questions about your rights or how an attorney could help you, call today. A seasoned attorney could advocate for you and protect your rights during a DUI stop.

Rights to Remain Silent and Speak with an Attorney

In Lexington, a person can invoke their right to counsel during a DUI stop. That being said, the officer at the stop does not have to allow the person the ability to speak to a lawyer. The Fifth Amendment gives people the right to remain silent and not incriminate themselves. The driver should not answer investigative questions asked by the police.

The officer may ask the driver how many beers they had to drink. In this case, the driver should not answer. Once an attorney is obtained, they could answer the officer’s questions about the driver. A skilled DUI lawyer will make sure that the person’s rights are being protected.

Miranda Rights During a Stop

If the driver is not read their Miranda rights after a legal DUI stop, it is still legal because the Miranda rights only come into play specifically with the DUI statute’s video-recording requirement. The person being placed under arrest and read their Miranda rights must be audio and video recorded, and if not, the lawyer can try to make a motion to dismiss the case at that point. They will try to have the police submit an affidavit saying why they could not comply with it, and what reasonable efforts they conducted to maintain video equipment in that patrol car or the body camera.

However, the person cannot use the failure to advise of Miranda rights as a way to attack the probable cause or sufficiency of the traffic stop because if a police officer fails to provide Miranda rights, it is not a basis to challenge the traffic stop itself. It is a basis to challenge the specific video recording statute for driving under the influence in South Carolina because of the requirement that the Miranda must be audio and video recorded.

Right to Refuse DUI Tests

A driver at a DUI stop has the right to refuse to take a field sobriety test without punishment. They also have the right to refuse a breath, urine, and blood test. However, it is imperative to understand that there is a penalty for refusing those tests through the implied-consent provision. The penalty for this refusal is a driver’s license suspension of six months, which they can challenge through an administrative hearing.

Ultimately, they have to make the decision about what is in their best interest as far as that is concerned, they are just rights that people do not realize that they have. The evidence could help or hurt them. The field sobriety tests are set up to provide evidence that hurts the individual less so than the evidence that would generally be helpful.

If you have any questions about your rights during a Lexington DUI stop and how an attorney could help you, call today.