I am a Seattle criminal defense attorney and a Seattle DUI attorney. This means, among other things, that I have a lot of friends, acquaintances, and people I just met who ask me all sorts of different questions about DUI law, how to get over a DUI, and what to do in certain situations if faced. by the police while driving. But the other day, I was the one who heard a story about a research meeting that solidified what I’ve been telling everyone: preparation and knowledge are the keys to a good outcome.

The story began at a fantasy football draft I was attending with a group of friends. One of the friends, who knows what I do for a living, started asking me some questions about a recent Seattle DUI case he had. He didn’t hire me at the time (he was still working in Kansas as a criminal defense attorney), and someone on a list that his company has offers prepaid legal services. Needless to say, this guy’s attorney was a little less motivated to give my friend the five star treatment.

Even though my friend had clear reasons for having the breath test thrown out as evidence, he was pulled over for following too close to the car in front of him in downtown Seattle at a very busy time of night (i.e. traffic was going from one side to another, it was impossible to continue to close when the traffic was not moving), and showed no other serious signs of intoxication, the best that the defense attorney could do, and what he advised my friend to take, was a stipulated order of continuation up to a first-degree charge of negligent driving after one year with no violations and meeting certain other conditions.

Well, my friend was fine, following through and staying out of trouble, when he scheduled a review hearing so the court could make sure everything was on track. This hearing was scheduled for a time when my friend was out of state, so the DUI attorney said he would handle it himself. When my friend came back, the lawyer didn’t say anything to him, and my friend went on living life as if there was no problem. Except for that hearing, the court gave my friend a month to complete an alcohol awareness class or face revocation of the stipulated stay order. Since my friend didn’t know, he didn’t. Guess what? The court arrested him for DUI and now he has to spend a day in jail!

That led to this story from one of my other friends, who is probably one of the smartest of the bunch anyway. He told a story about being pulled over one night in Seattle and investigated for DUI. At the time, he had been drinking, but he didn’t feel too drunk to drive. When the policeman started asking questions, my friend stopped talking. When the police officer asked my friend to do a field sobriety test, he refused. He did what he was supposed to do: make the police find enough evidence to arrest you without you helping them. The cops thought they had enough so they arrested my friend for DUI and took him to the station for a breath test.

As I have said in the past, at least in Washington State, when you are arrested for DUI and asked to take a breath test, you have the opportunity to speak with an attorney before deciding whether or not to take the test. So my friend, being the smart guy that he is, asked to speak to a lawyer. He told me that he got on the phone with a public defender (which is usually the one you get, which is fine because they actually know what they’re talking about) and he proceeded to talk to the guy for 45 minutes! They talked about a lot of things, including whether or not my friend should get a breath test in Seattle.

In the end, he decided to take. And she guesses what she blew; .01. That’s right, well below the legal limit. And because he did not take any of the other tests or make any other statements, the police had no reason or probable cause to arrest him and charge him with DUI without a breath test. So they took him back to his car and let him drive to his house!

Now, I’m not saying that if you follow the rules and exercise your rights you can beat a DUI, in Seattle or anywhere else. Sometimes, however, it is about more than that. It’s about limiting the information the police have against you, limiting the evidence the prosecutor has to convict you, and giving yourself the best chance of making your best case if you are charged with DUI. Learn what you must do in your state and, if the time comes, do it. It can mean the difference between walking away or paying the price of a DUI conviction.