“I remain silent. No searches. I want a lawyer.” Three sentences that may keep you out of trouble at sobriety checkpoints across the nation.
An attorney in Florida thinks he may have developed a foolproof way to get through DUI stops. He has created the Fair DUI flyer, which he encourages drivers to display to the police when they are stopped at sobriety checkpoints, rather than engage in a windows-down interaction with law enforcement. He says he is tired of defending clients who are wrongfully arrested at the checkpoints where the police may cite drivers for other issues unrelated to drunk driving.
The Fair DUI Flyer’s creator believes that drunk drivers should be taken off the roads, but feels that the current system also ends up hurting innocent people – the moment you roll down your window, the police may find reasons to cite you even if you are not driving drunk. It is a pretext to search for other things, which may land you in legal trouble.
One state flyer reads: “I remain silent. No searches. I want a lawyer.” followed by more specific information regarding the specific legal rights and responsibilities of the driver according to the laws in their state. When the flyer and license are displayed, many drivers are waved through a DUI checkpoint, without even rolling down windows, leading many to believe they have found a legal loophole to escape sobriety checks. The flyer has been developed for many state laws and there are a number of YouTube video tutorials on their use.
If you have been arrested for drunk driving in Wisconsin or other crimes while operating a motor vehicle, contact the Law Offices of Andrew C. Ladd, LLC. Andrew and his team of knowledgeable criminal defense attorneys have the experience to help you.
Sources: cbs.com, “Can a Legal Loophole Get You Through DUI Checkpoints?”, accessed February 23, 2015.
