DUI MISCONCEPTIONS

w-tASOUTH CAROLINA DUI MISCONCEPTIONS

  1. YOU TAKE THE BREATH TEST AT THE ROADSIDE BEFORE YOU ARE ARRESTED.  While logically it makes more sense to see what a person's breath alcohol concentration is before they are arrested, this is not the way DUI investigations are conducted in Charleston, Berkeley, or Dorchester County (or South Carolina for that matter).  The officer will base his decision to arrest usually on erratic driving, the odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and the performance of field sobriety tests.
  2. WE STILL USE A BREATHALYZER MACHINE.  South Carolina uses a Datamaster Machine.
  3. YOU ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO PERFORM FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS.  S.C. Code Ann. Sec. 56-5-2953(b) "A refusal to take a field sobriety test does not constitute disobeying a police command".
  4. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO TALK TO AN ATTORNEY PRIOR TO TAKING THE TEST.  Our Supreme Court has held that a person has no right to speak to a lawyer prior to taking a breath test.  "We hold that administration of a breathalyzer test is not a critical stage at which an accused is entitled to counsel." State v. Degnan, 305 S.C. 369, 409 S.E.2d 346 (S.C. 1990)
  5. YOU CAN FOOL THE MACHINE BY ATTEMPTING TO BLOW.  Officers are trained to "write you as a refusal" if a person does not provide an adequate breath sample, i.e. when a person fails to blow continuously. 

If you have been arrested for a DUI, drug charge, assault charge, or any other criminal offense in South Carolina please call my office to schedule a free interview.   I also handle driver's license issues, parole cases, and other matters.  If you have questions about a search warrant, arrest warrant, or any other issue involving your personal rights and liberty, please feel free to contact my office as well.  At my office, you will receive a free interview in criminal cases.  If retained, I will go about protecting your initial court appearance, if possible, and begin investigating the case.  If you have questions about a criminal or DUI case or questions about this article, feel free to contact me at (843) 761-0610.  If you would like to read more about South Carolina's DUI and criminal laws, copy/paste this link into your search heading http://www.vannoylawoffice.com/blog/

If you have questions regarding a DUI or criminal case in Berkeley, Charleston, or Dorchester County, please contact my office today at (843) 761-0610 or through the contact page on this website.

Photo-3Brady Vannoy is a criminal defense lawyer in Berkeley County, South Carolina.  He carries a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating.  According to the rating system, "AV Preeminent(r) is a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence."

Brady Vannoy is a member of The National Trial Lawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyers in South Carolina.  You can find his profile at www.thenationaltriallawyers.org.

He regularly defends cases in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties.  Brady is a member of the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers, Top 100.  Brady defends DUI and all types of criminal cases in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties along with other areas of the South Carolina low country.  He can be reached at (843) 761-0610, brady@vannoymurphy.com, or through the contact page on this website.