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00:00:00 [Music] I’m Mike Nichols, attorney with Pileleti, Py and Nichols. I’m here to talk to you today about your rights and responsibilities and moreover protecting you on a DUI traffic stop. Often times, uh, what comes up in my practice is what do I do if I’m pulled over and I’ve had a drink or two. My clients are very concerned that their interaction with police will be uh perceived as that they’ve consumed alcohol or that they’re inebriated when they’re driving. There’s a couple quick tips that we can provide
00:00:32 that at the end of the day would result in you coming away with a non-conviction on a DUI. When you’re driving down the road and you’re pulled over for a traffic infraction such as speeding, improper lane usage, some minor infraction under the Illinois vehicle code, officers have the right to come up to your door and talk to you. However, what we want you to be aware of at Pilleti, Piletty, and Nichols is that as soon as that officer comes in contact with you, they’re starting to build a case against you. right, wrong, or
00:00:58 indifferent. That’s what they’ve been indoctrinated to do and trained to do. What we recommend is if you are pulled over and on the side of the road, be prepared. Have your driver’s license ready. Have your insurance card ready. Surely officers will be asking for it when they come up to the side of your door. You want to keep your interaction with uh the officer to a minimum. The officer is likely to ask you if you’re aware of why you’ve been pulled over. At that point, we recommend our clients
00:01:23 respectfully um answer no and let the officer carry the conversation. Answering yes or no is fine. Yes, sir, no sir, no ma’am. However, we want to greatly limit our interaction um vocally with the officer because they’re going to start picking up on clues, whether that be uh thick tonged or slurred speech, uh bloodshot, glassy eyes, uh they are started their investigation the second they come in contact with you. And clients need to be hypervigilant to that fact. The officers don’t care uh where you’re coming from or what you’re
00:01:56 doing. They do care, however, if you can keep a sentence together and have a succinct thought and if you’re following their directions. However, again, if you’re if you’re greatly limiting the interaction you have, you’re not giving the officer the ammunition they need, so to speak. What we here at Piletty Pilating Nichols want to make sure for our clients is that you know what your rights and responsibilities are going to be relative to the next step in that DUI stop. The officer is going to want you
00:02:24 to step out of the vehicle and start to participate in the three battery test. Most people know these tests by their uh names. The walk and turn test, the one-legged stand test, and the horizontal gaze nagmus test or the HGN test as some people refer to it as. These tests come straight from the Nitsa training manual here in the National Highway Safety Administration. These tests have been determined with a great deal of certainty if if performed correctly that officers could show whether a person is inebriated on
00:02:54 alcohol or not. However, there’s never going to be a time in your life when you participated in the test and got a 90% and failed that test. And that’s why we caution you. It’s our office’s stance is that you do not participate in these tests whatsoever. Many people are shocked that they’re pulled over. They’re scared. They’re nervous. They have lots of anxiety around law enforcement these days. There’s a very simple way for you to not take these tests and move forward with the next steps. We would encourage you to
00:03:22 politely let the officer know that you’re not consenting to the three battery tests and then put the ball back in his court, his or her court. At that point, they are at a T intersection. They have to decide whether they’re going to prolong this investigation any longer because at this point you have a minor traffic offense. Meaning the officer can write you a warning, he could write you a ticket or continue the stop relative to his thought in his or her mind that you’re inebriated. When you do not contribute to these three
00:03:50 battery tests, being the walk and turn, the one-legged stand, and the horizontal gaze nagmus, you’re not getting the officer the ability to prolong that stop because you’re not giving giving that officer any additional information. Likely, once you’ve told the officer that you do not want to participate in this three battery test, they’re going to ask you to take what’s called the PBT or the portable breath test. Generally, that’s going to show whether your blood alcohol level is over .008. In Illinois,
00:04:16 if you’re over .008, you’re considered inebriated. If you’re under 0.08, uh the police can let you go. And and generally, that’s what we find is officers will encourage you time and time again, just take this breath sample. Just take this breath sample, and if you’re under, we’ll surely let you go. That’s not what we recommend in this situation. Based on the types of drinks that are available, um someone could have one IPA or one mixed drink and blow over a .008. you know, it’s going to have lots of different factors.
00:04:45 Whether you consumed food that day, whether you sat in the sauna or had a strong workout that day. You have to keep all these factors in mind. Uh, and again, that that portable breath test is going to greatly work against your efforts to be successful in defending your DUI offense. Keep in mind, if you refuse the breath sample, there are consequences. You are risking your driver’s license being suspended for one year. However, the thing to keep in mind is that uh that’s a civil penalty through the Secretary of State of
00:05:13 Illinois. Your DUI charge is actually charged in by the state’s attorney’s office, which is a criminal offense. Those two things are very different. Although your license may be suspended for one year because of your refusal to take the breast sample at the scene of your DUI arrest, our ability to help you on the criminal side of the offense is so much greater because of your refusal to take the breast sample. Additional things to remember is to always be polite to officers. Be respectful. They
00:05:40 have a job to do. Generally, they have no vendetta against you as a person. And for us to achieve the best outcome in your case, often times those uh whether you’re polite and respectful is factored in by the state’s attorney’s office. Whether you’re facing current DUI charges or you have a friend or family member that has pending DUI offenses, we want you to keep in mind whether you followed the advice in this video or not and taken the three battery tests or refused that three battery test moreover
00:06:09 or taken a breast sample, urine sample or provided a blood sample, we can help you. Give our office a call. Our expert attorneys are available at any time to talk through your case and work towards that desired outcome that you deserve.