This section applies to many DUI situations in York County, Pennsylvania. It is not a substitute for individualized legal advice. Your situation may be different.

If you have been stopped by an officer and you have been drinking and you are driving, you will immediately be suspected of DUI, regardless of whether you are actually intoxicated.

First, remain calm. This is very difficult, but you need to keep your wits about you. Be polite and courteous at all times. Police perform a dangerous and difficult job, and approaching a strange car at night with no backup is stressful for them as well.

Next, you should have all of your driving, registration, and insurance information handy. If you wait until you get pulled over, you will likely be nervous and upset. You will probably fumble with the papers in your glove box, wallet, or purse. For this reason, it is a good idea to keep your registration and insurance information in a distinctive envelope on top of everything else in your glove box. Your driver's license should be in an easily accessed area of your purse or wallet.

A note on giving out license information and names: Unless you've got a warrant for an exceptionally serious offense, do not say you've misplaced your license and then give a fake name -- you'll just get hit with more charges. If you are under investigation for a crime (and if you've been pulled over, you are) giving a fake name to a police officer is a crime in Pennsylvania.

Take care of getting your papers in order now - if you wait until a night you when get pulled over, it is too late. Being able to quickly find your papers reduces the chances that an officer will be able to claim that you appeared intoxicated as you fumble with them. For instance, the following is an example from a real affidavit of probable cause in a DUI case:

"I requested operator's driver's license, registration and insurance card. Driver produced PA driver's license identifying him as [driver]. [Driver] removed pile of papers from glove box and fumbled through it while looking for vehicle papers. [Driver] passed by registration and insurance papers several times."

Next, you should avoid talking any more than absolutely necessary. The police are looking for you to slur words. Even idle chit chat can be used against you if it provides evidence that you may be intoxicated.

You may be asked things like "Do you know why I pulled you over?" The best answer is "no." You can't read the officer's mind. In any case, the question is a trick question to try to get you to admit that you were speeding or that you went through a red light or something similar. Do not fall for it. Just answer no. You may be asked where you are going or what you are doing out so late. You do not have to answer the questions. Simply saying "no" is probably better than almost any alternative.

The officer will probably be shining his flashlight through your window into your face with the light about a foot or so from your face, blinding you. This is classic interrogation technique, since it makes you less likely to do something foolish, since you can't see. It also helps the officer control the situation from a tactical standpoint: it is hard for someone who can't see to use a weapon on an officer, which is a very real concern for police during a traffic stop. In addition, the blinding light lets the officer get close enough to smell your breath, clothes, and car.

You may be asked if you were drinking. If you admit to drinking, you'll get the full treatment. If you lie, you could face additional charges, plus you'll probably get the full treatment anyway. You should simply answer, "I'd rather not say." If the officer asks you to blow in his face, you do not have to comply. If he asks you how much you've had to drink, you should simply say "I'd rather not answer." Saying "I forget" implies that you were drinking so much you can't remember.

At this point, you will be asked to step out of your car. You should comply. You should shut your car door behind you and lock the door. You will likely be challenged about this and asked if you have something to hide. The officer may ask you something like, "Do you have any weapons or drugs in the car?" Again, silence is golden: "I'd rather not say." The cop may say "You don't mind if I take a look, do you?" Your response is: "I do mind. I do not want you to search my car." You may be threatened with having your car impounded at this point, but if you have alcohol on your breath, you're already in for a trip to the hospital at the very least anyway. Plus, impounding is much cheaper than a DUI fine. If the officer asks you to open any part of your car, the best response is simply, "are you asking me or telling me?" If he says he is asking, refuse. If he says he is telling you, comply.

The officer may start telling you to do things, like "look up in the air while touching your finger to your nose" or "stand on one leg and count to ten" or "recite the alphabet backwards" or "walk a 'heel-toe' test on a line." The way he tells you to do these things, you will not think that you have an option to refuse. You are allowed to refuse to do them, even though he will use his best and most authoritative "cop voice" to convince you otherwise. Police are trained to use their voices as their first and most effective means of controlling suspects.

You should refuse to do each of the tricks, which are called "field sobriety tests." You are not required to do them. The only reason the officer asks you to do them is so that when you fail one or more, he can put it in his report as additional evidence of your intoxication. You would probably fail at least one of them when sober anyway. Do not say "I couldn't do this sober!" as that will be taken as admission that you are drunk. Simply say "I do not want to do any field tests."

You may next be asked to blow into a handheld portable breathalyzer. This is called a "preliminary breath test." You should refuse to do this as well. It is like a field sobriety test as well - you do not have to do it. Consenting to the test allows the officer to put your failure in his report and beef up his probable cause to arrest you for DUI. Remember: you cannot lose your license for refusing to take a "preliminary breath test."

In all likelihood, you will end up being transported to either Memorial Hospital or York Hospital for a blood test. Under most circumstances, you SHOULD consent to the blood test at the hospital. As part of this process, you should specifically request that a second blood sample should be taken, ideally by a second technician at a separate testing facility, although simply requesting that blood is to be drawn and stored so you can later arrange an independent test is likely the best you can hope for under the circumstances. It is unlikely that the police will agree to have the blood drawn at a separate facility during the course of your interaction with them.

If you refuse the blood test, you will be charged with the most severe level of DUI. You will also lose your license for an additional year (in addition to any DUI-related loss of license). If you are under .08, you will likely be off the hook. If not, you will be arrested and charged with DUI. Refusal to consent to blood testing may be beneficial if you have had multiple DUI offenses within the last ten years, but even then it is a gamble if you have not had much to drink. As a general rule, if you have no priors or one prior, you are most likely best-served by consenting to the blood test.

If you follow these steps, you are likely to be bullied and threatened by the police. They will not be happy that you are not helping them to convict yourself. They may have your car towed. They may tell you that they won't let you go home that night. On the other hand, at a later date, if you are charged with DUI, you will have done everything that you could do to help yourself on the night of the offense. 

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