California’s DUI laws can be complex and confusing. In this section, our attorneys break down the rules and explain the process.
DUI Laws A to Z
California’s DUI laws can be complex and confusing. In this section, our attorneys break down the rules and explain the process.
DUI Penalties
The impact of a DUI conviction can haunt a person for years to come. But a good attorney can often get penalties reduced…and sometimes even get the case dismissed
DMV & Licenses
A good DUI attorney may be able to get the license suspension reduced, or even avoided altogether
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Many people incorrectly believe that if you are arrested for a California DUI, and the police don’t read you your “Miranda rights,” your DUI charges will automatically be dismissed. The fact, however, is that absent particular circumstances, Miranda rights are generally not required as a part of a California DUI investigation.
Miranda rights take their name from the case “Miranda v. Arizona.” 1
A typical Miranda warning in a DUI or other criminal case is one where an officer instructs a suspect as follows:
Miranda rights and/or a Miranda warning are only required when :
This means police are generally not required to read Miranda rights at a roadside DUI investigation unless:
Remember that the police are not your friends. If a person gets arrested for driving under the influence, he/she should not get caught up in conversation.
Again, Miranda rights are generally not required as a part of a California DUI investigation. This means that if you voluntarily answer the officer’s questions as to what type of alcohol you drank, how much alcohol you drank, etc., any answers you give will be used against you during DUI plea bargaining and/or trial.
If you do find yourself in a situation where (1) you are arrested, and (2) the officer begins interrogating you without “reading you your rights,” your California DUI defense attorney will most likely prevail in a motion to have any statements you make excluded from evidence. But if both of those requirements are not satisfied, any incriminating statements that you make will be admissible against you.
The bottom line is that the best way to avoid having incriminating statements used against you is to keep quiet! Respectfully inform the officer at the beginning of your California DUI investigation that you wish to exercise your right to remain silent. And then, as difficult as it may be, do just that.
(See our related articles, “Think you have the right to remain silent in California? Thing again” and “Police interrogation of children following a California DUI arrest.“)
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.