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 As a Criminal District Attorney and as a Criminal Defense Lawyer I have watched hundreds of DWi video tape. I have noticed that only a handful fully know their rights regarding Field Sobriety Tasks or Tests (FSTs). These are the pen following, line walking and standing tests the officers use on the side of the road. Most have no clue that they don't have to submit to these tests. The word has gotten out reguarding the breath or blood test. Most people know that they have the right to refuse both and all criminal lawyers would advise against submitting to these tests. This has advantages regarding your trial but has negative consequenses regarding suspension of your driving priviledges. On the other hand, not many people are aware of their right to refuse to perform FSTs. Officers are not required to inform you of this right. Therefore they usually go directly into their performance and one does not give it a second thought. THINK TWICE! This is done to allow the officers to gather evidence against you and testify for the state during a criminal trial. Without your cooperation all they will have as evidence is the driving facts and perhaps the smell of alcohol, slurred speech and/or bloodshot eyes. The amount of evidence is severely restricted. Of course, this does not guarantee an acquittal and your arrest is almost certain (although it probably already was). However, you should always avoid helping any police agency make their case against YOU. With most police interviews you have the absolute right to consult an attorney. However, the law does not consider the performance of FSTs as a custodial interrogation that triggers the police informing you of your right to have an criminal lawyer present. Now you know. The police cannot force you physically or in any other manner to perform FSTs. The function  of FSTs is to determine whether or not you have lost "you mental or physical faculties due to the introduction of alcohol," i.e. evidence gathering for your trial. Never assist the police in making their case against you. Be respectful of the police. A good way of handling the matter is letting them know that you will cooperate fully in the presence of your criminal lawyer. The police may be video taping you and this tape will be viewed by the Criminal District Attorney or shown in court and used against you! |
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| Newsflash |
"God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it." Daniel Webster |
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Weather Channel
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:11
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Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:11
Dallas Morning News
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:11
AP Headlines
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:11
| WASHINGTON (AP) -- Legislation extending unemployment insurance for the long-term jobless faces a key test vote in the Senate, its momentum helped by about 60 popular tax breaks for individuals and businesses that expired at the end of last year.... |
| Senate to take up unemployment insurance extension |
| COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A new Ohio State University custodial employee who received a bad job evaluation shot two co-workers in a campus maintenance building, killing one of them, and then fatally shot himself, officials said Tuesday.... |
| Ohio St.: Employee kills co-worker, then self |
| WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House's No. 2 Democrat is dismissing as "absurd" former Rep. Eric Massa's claims that he was forced out by party leaders because of his opposition to health care legislation.... |
| Dem leader calls Massa claims 'absurd' |
Al Dia Dallas,Texas
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:11
NPR Legal Affairs
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:11
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| The Justice Department is requiring the nation's largest voting machine company to sell off assets it acquired when it purchased its main competitor. The federal government and nine state attorneys general have filed a lawsuit saying the combination last September of Election Systems &Software and its biggest competitor harms competition. |
| Voting Machine Maker Ordered To Sell Some Assets |
| The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the message of anti-gay protesters who show up at military funerals with inflammatory slogans such as "Thank God for dead soldiers" is protected by the First Amendment. |
| High Court Will Hear Anti-Gay Funeral Protest Case |
KRGV TV Rio Grande Valley
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:11
Texas Lawyer
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:21
| Randy Johnston discusses the State Bar Professional Ethics Committee's recent approval of a fee arrangement that would require a client to pay the client's lawyer's attorneys fees if the plaintiff who originally sued the client later joins the defense lawyer in the same suit. |
| Legal Malpractice: When a Plaintiff Sues a Defense Lawyer |
| Texas Lawyer senior reporter John Council and Randy Johnston discuss: Andrews Kurth's relationship with the Howard Hughes estate, and how some lawyers learned about success by working in fast-food places. |
| Reversed &Remanded, July 14, 2008 |
| Senior reporter John Council talks with criminal defense lawyer Gary Udashen about: a battle over exhibits in the Holy Land Foundation trial, when double jeopardy attaches in a prosecution, Darlie Routier's DNA test, and a proposal to limit attorney-client privilege in some cases. |
| Reversed &Remanded |
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