In case you stumble upon this site, I'm going to give you a quick crash course in what you should do if stopped by Seattle cops and investigated for DUI. It is not all encompassing, and you should contact a Seattle criminal lawyer as soon as possible (even during the investigation if you can) to make sure you are making the correct decisions. This information should give you a little bit of background and knowledge should you ever be stopped for DUI.
Field sobriety tests, like the preliminary breath test, walk and turn test, one leg stand test, alphabet test, and all the others you've tried to do when a little drunk at college parties are not very good at telling if someone is drunk. In fact, they are plain bad at it.
Unless you are in perfect conditions and the instructions are given to you perfectly, the tests are essentially useless. And, in the State of Washington, they are viewed as a statement against your interest. This means you can, and should, refuse to take them, every time. Drunk or sober, don't take them. It cannot be used against you and will never help your case.
When you initially refuse, the officer is going to try to guilt you into taking them, or challenge you into taking them. "If you don't think you've had to much alcohol to drive, these tests should be no problem." Don't fall for it. He wants you to take those tests for one reason - he wants to build his DUI case against you.
After refusing, ask the officer if you are free to leave. If he says no, let him know, nicely, that you would like to speak with your DUI attorney Seattle. Either you will get to talk with an attorney or you won't. Either way only good things will come of it.
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