- April 11, 2018 |
- Category: DUI and Courtroom Process
The typical Ohio DUI investigation involves three separate and distinct phases:
- Phase One: Vehicle in motion
- Phase Two: Personal contact
- Phase Three: Pre-arrest screening
In my article on April 9, 2018, I discussed the first phase of the standard DUI investigation, that being vehicle in motion. This article will focus on the second phase of the DUI investigation, the personal contact between the officer and the driver once the vehicle has been stopped.
The officer’s first task is to approach, observe, and interview the driver while he is still in the vehicle, all while seeking evidence of impairment. After this interaction concludes, the officer must decide whether to ask the driver to exit the vehicle for further field sobriety testing. In some jurisdictions, departmental policy mandates that all drivers stopped on suspicion of DUI be instructed to exit their vehicle. Once the officer asks the driver to exit the vehicle, his second task in phase two is to observe the manner in which the driver exits and to make a mental note of any evidence of impairment.
In the initial portion of phase one, the face to face interview with the driver, the officer is trained to use three of his five senses to gather evidence of alcohol or other drugs: (a) the sense of sight; (b) the sense of sound; and (c) the sense of smell. In using his sense of sight, the officer is seeking a number of clues of impairment including: (1) bloodshot eyes; (2) soiled clothing; (3) fumbling fingers aka dropping things that the officer requests, like license and proof of insurance; (4) containers of alcohol in the car; (5) drugs or drug paraphernalia in the car; (6) bruises, bumps or scratches on the driver’s body; and (7) any unusual actions by the driver.
In using his sense of hearing, the officer is trained to seek a number of clues of impairment, including: (1) slurred speech; (2) an admission of drinking; (3) inconsistent responses; (4) unusual statements; (5) abusive language; and (6) any other statements that seem out of place or non-responsive. Finally, in using his sense of smell, the officer is seeking a number of clues of impairment including: (1) the odor of alcoholic beverages; (2) the smell of marihuana; (3) cover-up odors like breath mints or gum; and (4) any other unusual odors.
During phase two of the DUI investigation, officers are trained to use certain practices and techniques when questioning a suspected DUI driver. Their goal is to distract the driver by asking questions that require the driver to divide his attention, something that has been proven challenging for drivers who are impaired. With that in mind, officers often ask for two things simultaneously, like license and proof of insurance. In this situation, an impaired driver may: (1) forget to produce both documents; (2) produce documents other than the ones requested; (3) fail to see his license, proof of insurance or both when searching for them; (4) fumbles or drops wallet, purse, license or proof of insurance; and (5) have a difficult time retrieving documents using his fingertips.
The second technique that officers are trained to utilize in questioning a DUI suspect would be to ask questions that require the driver to divide his attention between searching for his license and answering a new question. For example, while the driver is retrieving his license from his wallet, the officer will ask unrelated questions such as “What day is it?” or “Where are you coming from?” Possible indications of impairment may be disclosed by the actions of the driver after these questions have been posed. Specifically, the officer will be looking for the driver who: (1) ignores the question and concentrates only on finding his license; (2) forgets to resume the search for his license after answering the question; or (3) provides the officer with a grossly inaccurate answer to the question.
The third technique that officers utilize when talking to suspected DUI drivers is to ask the driver distracting or unusual questions after he provided his license and proof of insurance. Using this technique, the officer is testing whether the driver currently has the ability to process information by asking a simple question to which the driver clearly knows the answer. For example, while holding the driver’s license, the officer will ask the driver a simple question such as, “What’s your middle name?” If the driver is impaired, it might prove difficult to answer, simply because it is an unusual question. Unusual questions require the driver to process information, which can be difficult when the driver is impaired and doesn’t expect to have to do so. In some cases, a driver may give his first name instead of his middle name. In this case the driver ignored the unusual question and responded instead to a usual — but unasked — question.
Finally, the last part of phase two is for the officer to observe the suspected DUI driver exit the vehicle while looking for signs of impairment. However, the decision to instruct the driver to step from the vehicle should only be made when the officer has detected signs of impairment during the above-described interaction. The manner in which the driver steps and walks from the vehicle and his actions and behavior during the exit sequence may provide important evidence of impairment. Officers are trained to look for drivers who: (1) have a difficult time getting out of the vehicle; (2) stumble or fall down when exiting the vehicle; (3) sway when standing after exiting the vehicle or have a hard time maintaining their balance; and (4) use the door of the vehicle for support when standing. Officer’s are trained to interpret these acts as signs of impairment.
The foregoing is part two of three when it comes to DUI detection and enforcement in Ohio. My next article will address the third phase of DUI detection: the standardized field sobriety testing.
No Ohio DUI arrest is perfect and the best Ohio DUI lawyers understand this. Most Ohio DUI investigations include a number of witnesses, including police officers and the personnel who collect, store and test chemical samples. These witnesses are human and they make mistakes. Those mistakes can be utilized in building a defense to a DUI charge and potentially be leveraged into a dismissal or reduction of all charges.
There are over a million laws in the United States and thousands in the state of Ohio alone. I am a top Ohio DUI lawyer who focuses his entire practice on just one. Because of my considerable experience and concentrated practice, I understand the Ohio DUI laws better than most attorneys in the state. I am passionate about Ohio DUI defense and I get results. If you have an Ohio DUI case and want a top Ohio DUI lawyer to represent you, please give me a call.
