Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

In part 1 of this article, we began examining the role of in-car Police video in DUI cases. We left off after reviewing the role of in-car video right up through the Traffic Stop. In this 2nd part, we'll pick up with what typically follows in any DUI Traffic Stop, the Field Sobriety Tests.

Beyond the Traffic Stop itself, in-car video can record the Field Sobriety Tests. In these cases, the audio is also important. Therefore, it shouldn't come a surprise that in any number of these videos I've obtained, there was no audio, or the Sobriety Tests were performed outside the angle of view of the in-car camera.

To be fair, in most of the videos I've seen and heard, the Client has, to put it nicely, not been at their best. Told, for example, to count backward from 89 to 72, the Client will continue on past 72 into the 60's. Letters are skipped during alphabet recitals. "I've seen enough. Turn it off" is a request that has been made of me any number of times while the Client and I watched the video.

Again, even if the video offers no help in avoiding a DUI, it does bring a certain peace of mind to the Client, because they can at least move beyond any belief (or clouded memory) that they did "fine."

Although it may be exception, rather than the rule, finding that video where the Client does just fine is a bonus. It's like finding a pound of gold in a ton of dirt.

Before any of this can be done, however, it must be determined whether or not there was any in-car video. As a general rule, most Police departments will "recycle," or erase over any video in about 30 days after it is recorded. This means a person must not delay in hiring a Lawyer to make that inquiry to prevent destruction of this evidence.

Which should bring to mind two very important questions. Why would the Police destroy any video that supports their case? Wouldn't they really only be interested in getting rid of any video that did NOT help their case?

Continue reading "The Role of Police Video in a Michigan DUI Case - Part 2" »

In my capacity as a DUI Lawyer, I have read, in my 20-plus years, thousands upon thousands of Police Reports. Careful examination of the Police Report in any DUI case is absolutely essential to proper handling of the case. In the last number of years, however, the presence of Police in-car video has added another ingredient to the mix of things that must be reviewed by the Attorney before any plan of intelligent action can be formulated. This article will be a bit longer than most of the others in the Drunk Driving section of this blog, and therefore will be divided into 2 parts.

We live in a video world. The advent of shows like "Cops" introduced us to seeing Police in action. And if you want to take about media "bias," how often do you see Police video of innocent people being questioned, and the let go? Short of the Rodney King video, and perhaps a few other examples of Police misconduct, all captured by third parties, by the way, we've essentially been trained to expect Police video to demonstrate guilt.

If you tune in to the local news, and there is Police video being run as part of any story, it almost always shows the Police arresting someone who should be arrested. DUI drivers are shown as staggering, and if there's audio, you hear them slurring their speech, or sounding otherwise drunk.

In DUI cases, it is not uncommon for me to be asked by a new Client, before I ever even get that far, about the Police video. "Can you get it? I'd like to see it."

In-car Police video has the potential to derail a DUI prosecution more than any other single piece of evidence. Admittedly, those examples of cases where the Police video contradicts the Officer's written version of events aren't very common, but for an investment of about $50, it amounts to a small price that can result in a huge payoff.

It is important to note, however, that Police are not required to have video-equipped Police cars. And even if the car has such equipment, there is no Law requiring that it be operational.

In the real world, Police video can really impact 2 major areas of a DUI arrest: The initial Traffic Stop, and the Field Sobriety Tests.

Continue reading "The Role of Police Video in a Michigan DUI Case - Part 1" »

As a DUI Lawyer, almost every case I handle involves the Client having performed some Field Sobriety Tests before being arrested and charged with the Misdemeanor Offense of DUI. Sometimes, the Client will tell me that they did well on them, but the Police Officer just kept giving them more and more to do, until they eventually failed.

Of course, what any DUI Lawyer hopes for is that the Police Car was equipped with a video camera, which was running, while the Client did, in fact successfully perform all the field sobriety tests. To say those cases are in the minority, however, would be a rash understatement.

In most cases where I have obtained the video, it either shows the Client clearly impaired by alcohol (even though her or she may not have thought so at the time), or fails to show anything one way or the other, leaving the Police Officer's report of the person's failure of one or more of those tests un-contradicted.

There is a whole science to Field Sobriety Tests. That's far outside the scope of this article, and in fact would require a rather long series of them to even scratch the surface. For our purposes, we're going to talk about the generally well-recognized reality that, at the point a Police Officer asks a Driver to perform Field Sobriety Tests, they have essentially made up their mind that the person is going to be arrested.

In fact, I have never even HEARD of a case where a person was given Field Sobriety Tests and then let go. Now, no one calls me when they HAVEN'T been Arrested for a Drunk Driving, so it's not like I'm in any position to hear both sides. Still, I doubt anyone of us has ever met, or heard of a case where a person was pulled over, given Field Sobriety Tests, and then told to be on their way.

Just as a preliminary matter, in every Police Report I have ever read in a DUI case (and as a matter of course, a DUI Lawyer MUST read the report before even thinking about what to do in any particular case), the Officer has noted that the Driver's eye's appeared "red," or "bloodshot," or "glassy," and that their speech was "slow,' or "slurred," and that they noticed a "strong odor of intoxicants" coming from the driver as he or she spoke.

Continue reading "Michigan DUI - Field Sobriety Tests in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties" »