What to say to the DUI police officer

My lawyer has instructed me to not discuss or reply to accusations after I have provided identification. I will take no field sobriety tests, and I will answer no questions until I speak with my lawyer. If I am free to leave, I would like to do so now. If not, pursuant to my rights under the Federal and State Constitutions, I shall speak to no one in the absence of counsel. I shall not consent to waive my legal rights. I shall not consent to a search of my car. Requests for information or consent to conduct searches, seizures or investigations of my person (including by breath or bodily fluids), property, or effects should be addressed to my lawyer, whose contact information appears on the reverse side of this card.

However, if by declining a test or examination I would be committing a separate crime, I will consent to your request(s).

NOTE: This advice is based on Georgia law and should not be relied upon outside of Georgia. This advice is general in nature and may not necessarily be in your best interest. If you are confronted by a law enforcement officer, make every attempt to contact me.

What to do if you are pulled over for DUI

Be nice.
Say “On the advice of counsel, I will take no field sobriety tests, and I will answer no questions until I speak with my lawyer.” Say nothing more.
Have ready: your license, registration, and insurance, but only give these to the cop if he asks for them.
You may refuse to take a Breathalyzer, blood, or urine test, but you may lose your license for a year. Blood tests are more accurate, and you may ask for one instead of the Breathalyzer, but you must pay for the test and find a doctor to do it. Remember, the police control the Breathalyzer.
If given a ticket, sign it or you could be arrested.
If you’re arrested, you have the right to remain silent. REMAIN SILENT! Wait for the advice of a lawyer before speaking with the police.
Demand the presence of a lawyer. Ask for a lawyer during any questioning, even if you’re not in custody. No matter what the police say, you don’t have to answer anything, and they’ll never treat you better without a lawyer than with one. Remember, even if you did nothing, your statements can and will be used against you later. Play it safe: call your lawyer first.
Ask the police: “What am I being charged with?”
Be honest. Either answer everything fully, or answer nothing until talking with your lawyer.
Never consent to a search of your car. (But, if you are arrested they will search your car. This is allowed for their safety. But, if you are asked for consent to search your car, say NO.
Refuse consent to search. Say: “I refuse to consent to any search of my premises, the location of my arrest, my car or effects.” “I wish to exercise my rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to remain silent and to have a lawyer present during any questioning or lineup.” “If you ignore my exercise of these rights and try to get me to waive them, I want to talk to my lawyer prior to any conversation with law enforcement agents on the subject of waiver.”

Why you shouldn’t talk to the police

You often do not know whether you’re innocent.
Police officers are human and make mistakes.
Innocent suspects make mistakes.
Innocent suspects never know what mistaken witnesses or unreliable evidence the police may have against them.
Any statement can be used to incriminate you if the police are mistaken or confused about what they told you or asked you.
Even if you say nothing that can be used against you, the police will be allowed to testify that they thought you appeared too nervous or too calm.
Police deception tactics are unchecked during interrogation.
You can be prosecuted for false statements to the police or obstruction of justice.

I learned this from Professor James Duane of Regent Law School an advanced DUI Defense seminar, “DUI Communicating Your Way to an Acquittal” in Las Vegas.

The one who wins thinks he can. This is the deceptively simple but profoundly true theme of Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. Published in 1937, Hill’s book is the single best-selling success bible of all time. And after you read it. You’ll understand why. In fact, you’ll probably have the proof sitting in your bank account.

In 25 years of interviewing nearly 500 of the most successful people in the world – men like Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and Charles Schwab – Hill discovered that each of them had understood and applied the same fundamental secret to their remarkable successes. In Hill’s life, the person most responsible for revealing that secret was Andrew Carnegie. Having built U.S. Steele into one of history’s largest corporations, the billionaire Carnegie funded Hill’s decades-long research project. The project mission was actually rather simple: learn the formula for success, prepare it for the man on the street, and then take it to the world. And this is exactly what Hill has done.

What sets Hill’s book apart, however, is its relentless practicality. The “self-help” genre is full of works that try to inspire readers with details about the fabulously successful. But inspiration and application are two different things for everyday people who want to put theory into action. Hill’s stories about the world’s most wealthy are certainly inspiring, but they are not his book’s most significant contributions. Instead, his 13-step formula is the practical key for getting anything you want. And I can plainly attest that the formula is working for me!

Think and Grow Rich is, quite simply, changing my life. After reading Hill’s chapter on “Specialized Knowledge,” I opened Cerbone DUI Defense, and am serving my clients with the highest quality DUI defense there is. As I have been putting Hill’s 13-steps into action, I have found that the response to my plans has been nothing short of phenomenal.

Hill’s book applies equally well to success across the board rather than just financial success. Moreover, Hill’s philosophies of leadership, self-motivation, and individual achievement are also timeless. For bill Gates practices the secret in much the same way that J.P. Morgan once did. All in all, this book is elegantly written from cover to cover; it reads like a handbook chock-full of real-life examples. One of my personal favorites is Charles Schwab’s “Pretty After-dinner Speech for a Billion Dollars.”

In short, if you liked the book The Secret, then you’ll love Think and Grow Rich, which exceeds it in more ways than one. Think and Grow Rich is unique because, in the words of Napoleon Hill, “The secret to which I refer has been mentioned no fewer than a hundred times throughout the book. It has not been directly named, for it seems to work more successfully when it is merely uncovered and left in sight, where those who are ready and searching for it may pick it up.” It’s more than an insignificant chance that you’re reading this review right now. You’re ready. You’re searching. Why don’t you pick it up?

Original Article Published in The South Magazine: What Makes a Winner?

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What to do if you are pulled over for DUI

Why you shouldn’t talk to the police