I defend DUI charges in Riverside County, and as I was waiting for my client’s DUI case to be called, I overheard another defendant discussing her DUI charge with the judge at her pretrial hearing. Â This defendant stated that she was in fact not under the influence while driving. Â The D.A. looked at the defendant’s file and allegedly found a record of a blood test, which revealed cocaine particulates in the defendant’s blood stream. The defendant, in rebuttal, claims she never even took a blood test.
If we pause here for a moment, it appears the defendant is doing a good job of at least creating some reasonable doubt concerning the evidence, i.e., that she never took a blood test even though an alleged blood test revealed she was under the influence of drugs. Â But if you want to learn how this defendant royally screwed up, keep reading.
The judge looked from the defendant to the D.A. for an explanation – was the D.A. looking at the wrong file? Â Did another defendant’s blood test accidentally end up in the wrong file? Â How can you have record of a blood test if this defendant claimed she never took a blood test? Â Oddly, as the D.A. perused the defendant’s file, she didn’t say anything more about the blood test. Â What the D.A. did do was read a statement by the defendant which was recorded by the officer in the arrest report. Â The defendant’s statement read as follows, “Yes officer, I was smoking a joint laced with cocaine.”
What!!!??? Â Yes, that’s right, this defendant told the officer she was smoking drugs. Â So the judge looks from the D.A. back to the defendant for an explanation, and the defendant says, “Yeah, yeah, I smoke some trees now and then, but I didn’t take a blood test.”
The moral of the story is, DON’T TALK TO THE COPS. Â 90% of the time, the bulk of the D.A.’s evidence is from the very mouth of the defendant. Â You have a 5th Amendment right to remain silent. Â Use it. Â Tell your criminal defense attorney instead.
If you need help with your criminal defense issue, you can email me at paul.socaldefense@gmail.com, call me at 310-200-4519, or contact me through my website.