Connecticut DUI
 When you take a drink and then go out and drive in Connecticut you face getting yourself involved with a law that can have a devastating impact on your life. It is a series of laws that has become so complicated and its punishment so severe that law professionals are bewildered by it.
Police Contact
Police officers are allowed to pull you over based on a “reasonable articulable suspicion” that you are committing a crime, i.e. driving under the influence. They can pull you over and ask you a lot of questions without first having advised you of your constitutional rights. This is called an investigative detention. Now you have the right to refuse to answer any questions. In fact you have the constitutional right to refuse to answer the questions and to tell the officer to either arrest you or let you go. The likelihood is that you will be arrested! However, if you answer the questions you will be incriminating yourself and more than likely arrested. You can’t win!
During and after the stop the officer is observing, listening and using his sense of smell to determine if you have consumed any alcohol. The officer is also evaluating your dexterity, sense of balance and the sound of your speech—slurring of words. If your are asked if you consumed a drink containing alcohol, the officer will more than likely ask you to get out of the vehicle to perform some tests.
The police officer’s observation of your driving, his stopping you, talking with you and testing you is all being done to establish probable cause to arrest you. Once he asks you out of the car he will have you perform the following field sobriety tests—an eye test called the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, the Walk And Turn Test and the One Leg Stand Test. He is trying to determine if alcohol has affected your ability to listen to instructions and then perform the tests according to those instructions.
DUI Arrest
When you are arrested he will take you to the police station and offer you either a breath, blood or urine test. Connecticut law says that if you drive in Connecticut you give your implied consent to take one of these tests if asked by a police officer. He chooses the test, you don’t! He will usually ask you to take a breath test. Before asking you to take a test he gives you an advisement with regard to the testing procedure and what happens if you take the test or refuse to take the test. He then gives you the opportunity to call an attorney.
DMV Hearing
The hearing at the DMV is called the Administrative Per Se Hearing. You can contest the automatic suspension of your license. If you win, there is no license suspension. If you lose, the suspension goes into effect. However, you have to contact the DMV with regard to scheduling this hearing. Your failure to do so results in the suspension taking effect.
All is not lost. If your license is suspended, you may be able to get a special driving permit to drive to and from work and in the course of your employment. |
