How to Handle a Traffic Stop

Say you are driving down the road, maybe a little bit over the speed limit or maybe a lot over the speed limit.

You see a flash of light behind you. Officer not so friendly is standing next to the driver's side door. No one is feeling calm right now. You roll down the window, and the first thing the officer says is, “Do you know why I pulled you over?” Many people, in an attempt to talk their way out of a ticket, will immediately start offering excuses for their speed.

 What the officer has done is elicit a confession from you. “Wait,” you say, “he didn’t read me my rights.” Miranda warnings or your “rights” are very important advice that must be given before any custodial interrogation. Your confession, by law, is not custodial. It is part of a brief traffic stop but doesn’t rise to the level of being arrested, according to the courts.

So, how should you respond to that question? You certainly don’t want to annoy the officer. You can still hope to get a warning. What I like to do in this situation is smile very broadly and say something like, “I’m pretty sure I’m about to find out.” There was no confrontation on your part, and there was also no confession from the cop. The officer will still use those buzzwords in court that every lawyer wants to hear: “he was polite and cooperative,” but if his radar isn’t working properly, they don’t have a case.

Remember, you want to interact as calmly and pleasantly as possible, but you don’t need to build the state’s case for them.

Driving while intoxicated charges not only carry some risk of jail time; they can have a widespread impact on your whole life.

For instance, did you know that the MVA can restrict or revoke your license for a period of time? You can be forced to use a breathalyzer in your car in order to be able to drive. Or may the MVA prohibit you from driving anywhere other than work, school, or treatment?

Having a lawyer is very important. First, you need a lawyer to make sure:

1. The cop had probable cause to stop you;
2. The field sobriety test was done properly;
3. The breathalyzer was administered according to the law;
4. The state can prove its case in court

There is a lot you can do before the court to help you get the best outcome. A lawyer can connect you with services that are respected by the court. A lawyer can negotiate reasonable limits on your freedom, ask for certain fees to be waived, or ask for points not to be put on your record. Finally, a lawyer can help preserve your ability to drive.

Make sure you get an attorney with a great deal of experience, not only with the law but also with the location of your charge. Judges respect lawyers; they know to come prepared.

Sure, we see a lot of people going to traffic court by themselves and going home at the end of the docket, so it must be okay not to get a lawyer, right?

Hold up, you might be leaving court, but did you just make it, so you can’t legally drive from court? Many times, you receive multiple tickets. Some of these can be prepaid, and some cannot. Certain charges carry a lot more points than others.

The benefit of a lawyer in traffic court is that a lawyer can effectively negotiate with the State to prepay a ticket with little or no points and have the jailable offense dismissed. Or we can get you to prepay a no-point charge and have no points negotiated on the other tickets.

Having a lawyer there can be very helpful. I can save you thousands of dollars or, more importantly, keep you from having a suspended license.