This might be a bit complicated - you need a lawyer who is very familiar with the laws in your jurisdiction.

On that. But it will take a while i would just like to know what he is up against. How valid the case against him is

He needs legal advice from someone local now, not later. I hope he has remained silent so far. He needed a lawyer at the time of his arrest, and there should be no delay in getting one for him.

Without full knowledge of what happened, nobody can really advise you on what problems he's facing. The longer he is without good legal representation, the worse those problems will be, frankly.

All my kids know to ask for a lawyer first, since they were 12. He refused the breathalyzer and blood test. I have put out feelers for the best DUI lawyer around. Right now he is still sitting in detention. I figure letting him stew for a few days would be good for him.

Right now the only reason I mentioned the cop was because that is the reason he got into his truck instead of walking home. I am not even sure if charges will be pressed for that.

Being 2 different counties, the Dui in one and fight in the other. So separate arrests. I have feelers out for a good lawyer recommendation. By Monday I should have a recommendation and will call for an appt.

That sounds like a mistake to me. But, it's not my kid, so I can't tell you what you should do. A few days in jail is not a good thing, really.

Arrested him at 3 am Friday. I went to get him this afternoon, only to find out that I cant until 5 pm today. try finding a bail bond in a small town on a holiday weekend. I finally gave up and hit up the atm.

You're going to need one. That's my advice in this situation. Nobody on DU will give you any better advice, I'm sure.

But did they do a breathalyzer after they arrested him? Or draw blood from him? If not, I don't see how they can arrest him for DUI, possibly could get him for leaving the scene of an accident. If they tested him at the jail after he was home for an hour, could he have had a drink after being upset that somebody just pulled a gun on him? If somebody had pulled a gun on me like that and if I didn't know the guy was a cop, hell, these days, even if I knew he was a cop, I would have been driving home looking over my shoulder instead of paying attention to the road.

Good luck with the outcome.

Second, as others have said, it's probably best to call around locally because laws will vary from state to state.

I know I'd be getting a lawyer and fighting any charges.

Although I would also expect a charge of leaving the scene of an accident, which will not be easy to get out of.

What did your son say to the police? Did he admit to drunking? Take a soberity test?

And x2 on getting a lawyer.

If so it might be a good idea to remind him to firmly but politely avoid making or signing any statements or confessions until you get there. It might be best to bail him out ASAP before he inadvertently says anything incriminating.

If bail is high you can usually find a local bail bondsman. Once he's safely out of the station you can work on finding a reasonable attorney and getting that process started which might take a few days if you don't already have one.

Good luck and hope it goes away soon!

First, what evidence do they have that your son was drinking at the party? Any witnesses as to how much, if anything? What evidence do they have as to how drunk your son was when he was at the party? Was he stumbling around slurring his words and then crawling into his car? or did he seem normal? Your attorney will have to find this out, contact witnesses and assess.

Second, they will have to prove that your son was the one driving the car. Any witnesses to that? Did anyone actually see him get behind the wheel and drive off? Is it plausible that someone else got in the car and drove off with your son, and your son was the passenger?

Third, even if they can show that he was the driver and that he had something to drink beforehand, they will have to prove that he was "under the influence" or above the legal limit while he was driving. Very tough to prove without a witness who observed some erratic driving on his part, or in the field sobriety tests, or a breathalyzer, or a test at the station after he was placed into custody. There is absolutely no proof that he was over the legal limit or even "under the influence". Running into a ditch, imo, doesn't rise to that level. Note: there may be some local law about fleeing the scene of an accident.

This is a case that I might want to take to trial if I were a defense attorney (on the DUI charge)--depending on how drunk your son looked at the party and whether anyone saw him get into the car and drive off and whether there were any witnesses as to how he was driving. I have prosecuted DUIs and I wouldn't want to take this to trial.

Obviously you should get a lawyer for him. This is not legal advice, just my quick and dirty take of the case against him.

My son is barely 21. I am not sure if witnesses to his drinking will come forward, some of them were under aged. No breathalyzer and no blood test, so witnesses is all they have. He did flee and come home, but he was not charged with that. Just dui and open container. I have a feeling that they charged him with open container to plea him down to that. But the Dui was my question. I will be getting him a lawyer. Just wondering if my gut instincts were on track.

..... A half mile from his house on the rural road - went in to a ditch. Split his chin open.

He walked back to his house where his friends decided to take him to the Er to get his chin looked at. He drives past his wrecked car and the cops are investigating. So he stops (first mistake)

The cops were really nice. Asked him if he had anything to drink after the wreck and he tells them no. (Big mistake) He even helped the cop change a flat tire on the cruiser on the way back to the station. You guessed it - the cop gave him a DUI once they got back to the station.

Moral of the story is shut the fuck up. Or, if he is going to talk, all that booze was consumed AFTER the accident.

This is not my area but I know enough that your son needs good help sooner than later

Run a basic google search, type in "dui charge after the fact".

Bottom line from what I can read is 1) Yes, they can charge him but 2) Proving it will be difficult - at best

I presume they charged him with DUI?

The DUI will be very hard to prove given the lack of physical evidence. A good attorney should be able to get him off or reduced to a charge like reckless driving (the latter might speed up the process more quickly and be cheaper). Whether he intended to walk home or not is probably irrelevant.

What concerns me more are potential assault and battery charges. That the kid has a cop for a daddy could be a problem. What exactly happened between the time the officer said to backup and when he got in his truck? Did the cop tell him to do anything or identify himself as a law enforcement official? How many third party witnesses were there to that event?

Bottom line: get a good lawyer for the DUI case, then see what plays out wrt any assault charges.

And something which, if pursued, would depend on additional witnesses to what went down.

I think making a legal case that "I wasn't going to drive.... but i was forced to at gunpoint" is going to be a tough sell. Was there only the two options of walking past gun-holding cop or getting in the truck? Not possible to walk in a different direction?


Bottom line, though, a lawyer is in order. Especially because whatever the larger circumstances of the case, i suspect any DUI charges are going to hinge on whether it can be proven he drove under the influence, or not.. Little else.

I suspect most DUI judges have heard every explanation in the book as to why someone says they drove under the influence.

There was a case I read about in a local paper. A guy kinda ran off the edge of the road and got stuck on the train tracks that intersected the road, then walked to a bar down the street leaving his vehicle on the tracks. He came back drunk (let's face it, he was drunk before he went to the bar) and the cops were there waiting for him. They arrested him for DUI. He got off because the cops could not prove he was drunk before he went to the bar.

while in control of the vehicle. They can't in this case. Hopefully he has made no admissions to the police or other prisoners. The fact he was drinking at the party means nothing. They can't prove he was DUI at the time he was driving because no tests were taken and police officers did not observe his driving.

is seen as an automatic admission of guilt. Of course, if they never asked him to do either of those, that's a different story.

In any case, the exact laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and you absolutely need a local attorney who handles DUI cases in your area.

And whether or not he'd planned to drive has nothing to do with the fact that (maybe) he drove while intoxicated.