If you have been pulled over for an alleged traffic violation you are required to identify yourself. If possible, provide your driver license and insurance. Do not say more than what is necessary for the officer to complete the traffic investigation. If they order you out of the vehicle, you are usually required by law to comply. If they ask to search your vehicle, respectfully decline their offer. If they write you a citation, sign it. It is better to fight the case later in court than in the street.

If you have been pulled over and have had anything to drink, be careful when answering questions. Officers have standard questions they ask when conducting a DUI investigation and you may not even know you are being investigated. Look out for questions regarding when and what you last ate, if there is anything wrong with the vehicle, where you came from, if you were the driver, when you last slept, and of course when and what you had to drink. Your answers to these questions are important if you are later arrested for a DUI and we are crafting a defense. You are not obligated to answer those questions or to conduct any field sobriety tests. Nor are you required to conduct the preliminary breath test at the scene. However, as a CA driver, you are required to submit to a breath or blood test at the station or you will risk a one year license suspension for refusing the test. Also, police may be able to get a warrant to get a sample of your blood if you refuse the chemical test. It is best to refuse the field sobriety tests and the breath preliminary test since it is less reliable and you are not obligated to complete it, but you should agree to submit to a chemical test at the station so your license does not get suspended for one year. A blood test is preferred because it is more reliable and we can retest it to make sure it is accurate.

Police need a warrant to search your home. If you consent to a search, then police can enter and search without a warrant. Unless you are already on probation or parole with a search condition, you do not have any obligation to let police search your home. There are limited exceptions called ‘exigent circumstances’ that police may argue to get around the warrant requirement. However, as long as you do not consent, we will be better equipped to challenge any warrantless search later on in court.

It is easier for police to search your vehicle than it is to search your home. Police can search your vehicle if they have probable cause that it contains contraband. Probable cause is a ‘reasonable basis’ that there is illegal conduct. If police observe anything illegal while it is in plain view from outside your vehicle, that may give them authority to search the remainder of your vehicle. If you admit to there being any contraband in the vehicle, they will be able to search the vehicle. Never make incriminating responses and don’t keep anything you don’t want the police to see in plain view.