—–Original Message—–
Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 11:43 AM
To: info@coptalk.info
Subject: Tickets
I was recently pulled over for suspected DWI, I requested a breath test knowing i had two drinks and would pass which i did. The cop angrily issued me a DWI ticket anyway among others. On my way out of the station I stupidly muttered a comment (nothing horrible, I am a Christian). Two days later he mailed me an additional 5 tickets . Is this legal??
Our Reply:
It would be interesting to hear where you live. A ticket is a summons to go to court. If you were issued a DWI citation then you have to go to court for it. An officer has to have proof that you were too intoxicated to operate a motor vehicle or else it would get dismissed in court. Keep in mind though that even though someone is below the legal limit, they can still be arrested for driving under the influence based on their driving. It will be up to the officer to prove in court that you were too impaired to be operating a motor vehicle even though you tested under the limit. Or if the breath test was done some time after the stop, he may try to prove that you were over the limit at the time of the stop but your B.A.C. (blood alcohol content) dropped by the time the test was done.
As for mailing you 5 additional tickets after muttering a comment, what were they for? Normally you have to sign a citation when it’s issued unless it’s a parking or registration citation that an officer can leave on your car. Again, it would be interesting to hear where you live and what the additional citations were for. If you have questions, call the police department and ask to speak to a supervisor to discuss the citations and see if they were legal.
Thanks for the question….
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