DeKalb gives Doraville Police Newbie DUI

Kasey Lindsey has been wearing a police uniform only since January, and you’d think by now he’d know it's never a good idea to lie to the police. In fact, you’d think he’d know better than to talk to the police during a stop at all. Or take a breath test. Of course, you’d really think he’d know better than to drink too much and then get behind the wheel of a car. As I do with celebrities who get DUIs, I will break down what he did to get charged with a DUI.

DUI Stop Analysis

Action 1: Lindsey didn’t have his paper work

The police report states Lindsey had no proof of insurance and was driving with an invalid registration. A police officer knows a driver must have these documents. He probably writes tickets every day to people who aren’t carrying theirs. Why on earth doesn’t he keep his in his car or in his wallet?

Action 2: Lindsey lied to the cops 

He told the arresting DeKalb police officer that he had fallen asleep, which is how he managed to rear-end another car. You should never, ever lie to the police. You also don’t have to speak to them. Just be polite when refusing to answer anything.

Action 3: Lindsey took the field sobriety tests & breath tests

Field sobriety tests merely help an officer to make a decision to arrest or not arrest someone. They are not scientific and cannot be used in court to prove someone was intoxicated, just that in officer's opinion, the officer had reason to arrest the driver for being impaired by alcohol. Since no one has to take them, if you're ever in this position, ask the officer if these are voluntary, and then don't take them. I find it strange that a trained police officer who understands this, agreed to take the FSTs.

Likewise, a trained police officer should know that by refusing to take a breath test he will be facing the night in jail plus an automatic license suspension. But that sure beats getting a DUI and probably losing your job by taking a breath test. No breath test means no results to disprove in court.

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Can a DUI lawyer plead his client guilty without her knowledge?

There are lawyers out there who will happily take your money and then happily plead you guilty. If you hire the first person you talk to, you are setting yourself up for trouble. Not always—after all, I don’t know who the first person you plan on talking to is—but unless you talk to a few lawyers, how can you tell who is good? You don’t need a lawyer to plead you guilty. You can do that yourself and save a few bucks in the process. But to hire someone who is cheap who will then not fight for you: what is the point?

True story

In Gwinnett County court the other day, several seasoned DUI lawyers watched on in disbelief as an attorney we didn’t recognize (yes, we DO all know each other in Gwinnett and Fulton Counties) asked the judge for permission to plead her absent client guilty—without the client’s knowledge. I am happy to report to say the judge did not allow this, but we are all shocked that anyone would attempt to bamboozle a client like this. Stories from the front lines by Gwinnett area police officers and others who work in the courts a lot say they’ve seen an increase in lawyers who don’t know the first thing about how to handle a DUI case.

How is this possible?

In times of economic troubles you need to be especially wary. Everyone is hurting, from the gift shop on the corner to the dentist. Lawyers are small business people too. And those lawyers who normally represent a type of customer who has disappeared —like real estate law, small business law, etc—are hurting for money and business. But law degrees are generic; it doesn’t matter which type of law you normally practice, your JD says you can practice any type of law. A law diploma does not mean a person has any experience in any particular type of legal specialty. Experience takes years of work, mentoring, and training to achieve. And an amazing real estate attorney is going to make a lousy DUI lawyer, trust me.

How can you make sure you hire the best?

And what do you do if you realize you’ve hired a turkey? Read my related articles.

Related Articles

How do you know when you need a new lawyer?

Another Reason to Hire a Good Lawyer

How to Hire a Criminal Defense Lawyer

How to Hire a Criminal Defense Lawyer When Money is An Issue

How to Hire an Atlanta DUI Lawyer

Interview your Georgia DUI lawyer

Atlanta DUI Lawyers Clark & Towne

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Drunk driving rates down in Georgia and elsewhere too?

The CDC is amazed. They can’t believe their numbers. According to a survey they just published, the number of self-reported drunk driving trips has decreased 30% from 2006 – 2010. But how can that be? You’d think with the economy being in the dumps and with such high unemployment, people would have more time and more reason to drink. But apparently, when the CDC randomly called people in 2010, aged 18 and up, on a landline phone and asked them if they had driven "’when you've had perhaps too much to drink’ in the past 30 days” they were told 30% fewer yes’s than when they asked this same routine in the same manner back in 2006.

Trying to find a reason behind such results they came up with: people aren’t drinking at bars or even running out to pick up a six-pack anymore because the cost of using a car is so high now.

Of course, the CDC might just have been calling the wrong people. The landline demographic has drastically changed over the past four years. Many more people today use cell phones as their only phone. In fact, over 25% of households don’t have landlines at all, and this group of households likely younger, and younger people tend to show a higher rate of binge drinking. All of which means, the CDC called a very different segment of the population in 2010 than they did in 2004.

The big question

If the CDC is reporting a 30% decline in self-reported drunk driving, what do our local law enforcement agencies tell us? Did the Gwinnett police write fewer DUI tickets in 2010 than in 2004? What about Fulton police? Atlanta police? Suwannee police? What about nation-wide DUI arrest trends? The CDC might be wanting to question their data collection policies. Maybe the era of landline polling has reached its end.

image copyright CDC

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What the metro-Atlanta police don't want you to know about Field Sobriety Tests

• Someone being asked to take roadside (field) sobriety tests does not have to be read their Miranda rights (which warn that the incriminating evidence will be used in court against him),

• The breath test machine is not reliable, and the numeric result is not admissible as evidence in a Georgia court of law

• A citizen doesn't have to take field sobriety tests, even when specifically asked

• Whether someone "passes" or "fails" a sobriety test is solely the personal judgment of the person administering the test

Related Articles

• Do not do the field tests
• Don't consent to the search
• What happens at a DUI traffic stop?
• No Refusal Policies are Bad Law
• Do not talk to the police
• Do you understand your Miranda rights?

Atlanta DUI Lawyers Clark & Towne

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