The majority of all DUIs start as a traffic stop. Drivers do not realize that this ‘stop’ is a form of detention and seizure of your person. This is an important point of law because under the Bill of Rights, the Fourth Amendment prohibits governments from unreasonable searches and seizures of persons and their property. It requires, at minimum, that an officer have probable cause before any search or seizure is conducted. Kansas is a state that pushes up against this Constitutional right by allowing DUI Checkpoints, a practice many in the legal community see as unreasonable and which I have written about on here extensively in the past.
Putting aside Checkpoints, if a driver gets pulled over by law enforcement, thinking about whether police can legally search them and their vehicle is probably the last thing on their minds. However, it is generally good to know that if you are stopped, you have the right to politely state that you do not consent to any searches. You will likely still be told to get out of the car and you or your car may be searched anyway.
It is also important to know that Kansas law enforcement officers are trained to look for probable cause and, as a result, will often find it very quickly. It is in their haste to read probable cause into the otherwise normal behavior of motorists that often creates an experienced DUI attorney’s first line of defense.
For example, the officer may have thought you committed a traffic or vehicle violation and intended to pull you over to give you a ticket. After midnight, and particularly on weekends, this is really just a pretext to investigate a DUI. Police officers don’t pull people over for not using a turn signal at 2:00 PM, but they definitely will at 2:00 A.M. After instructing you to roll down your window, the officer now thinks your eyes look bloodshot. Maybe he smells some strong odor he believes is indicative of alcohol or a drug. Perhaps the officer notes that your speech is off somehow. You fumble for your driver’s license and can’t find your insurance card. Now, he will have you submit to field sobriety testing and a breathalyzer.
The accumulation of all this ‘probable cause’ occurs within minutes. But even if you fail the preliminary breath or field sobriety tests and are charged with DWI, there is still a lot your DUI defense attorney can do to beat the charge.
If the reason for the initial stop was not valid, then your attorney will attempt to demonstrate to the court that it was an unreasonable stop. An experienced lawyer will file a motion alleging that all evidence gathered after the improper stop was illegally obtained and, therefore, the evidence should be thrown out of court (what lawyers call “suppressed”).
This evidence can include everything from the scores on your field sobriety tests and breathalyzers, any contraband found during the body and/or vehicle search, statements that were made or any other evidence obtained by law enforcement in violation of the Constitution.
The legal team you hire will scrutinize all reports made by the police and review any surveillance video available. They will listen closely to the account of their client and then determine where key disparities lie. In many cases, DUI attorneys will want to file motions to suppress evidence based on an illegal stop, illegal arrest, faulty breath or blood test procedure or improper interrogation by the police. By filing motions, they can develop an aggressive defense strategy to secure the best outcome possible.
Kansas DUI laws are a collection of very complex laws that continue to change and expand. This is why most people now realize that it is not only necessary, but vital to hire an attorney emphasizing DUI defense to protect their freedoms and rights if they face a DUI – DWI charge.