Legal Question in DUI Law in North Dakota

Arrested for DUI

I was drinking at a party in North Dakota. After about six beers, a girl asked me to drive her back to her college apartment. So I bring her home, go inside to unlock the door, and decide to go back to the party.

I get into my car and drive off. As soon as I get out of the parking lot, I notice the campus police following me. I make a turn to see if he's following me, he does. I pull over and get out of the car. At this point, he had not turned on his lights yet. He does, and gets out. He informed me the campus parking lot speed limit is 15 and he said I was doing 45 mph(even though I clearly remember doing only 30) which tells me he didn't clock me. He then asks me if I had been drinking. I say no, and he says he can smell it on my breath and see it in my eyes. So, he makes me do the field sobriety tests and apparently I fail two out of three even though I thought I had passed. I did not feel intoxicated at all and I only blew .090 at his intial field test. He arrested me. The second and third tests at the jail I blow .081 and .079, respectively, yet he still writes me up for a DUI.

Can I get out of this since the BAC on my ticket was listed as .079, which is under the limit?


Asked on 4/17/06, 7:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Kelly-952-544-6356 Kelly Law Office

Re: Arrested for DUI

If you have a ticket from North Dakota, you need a North Dakota lawyer. I'm not sure there are any available to answer your question here at Law Guru. I can only tell you what the situation would have been had you been stopped in Minnesota.

Here you can be given a DWI regardless of the test reading as long as the officer believes that your driving behavior and your condition indicates that you are under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. So yes you can be ticketed even if your test reading is below .08. In fact truck drivers are ticketed for lower than .08 on a regular basis.

I would hope that a defense lawyer who knows the prosecutor could talk this down to a careless or speed. Since you are below .08 it should not show as an alcohol related offense on your driving record if you could get it reduced. That should be your goal; and don't dare go in there without a lawyer.

I recently answered a question here about how long does a DWI stay on your record, and when could the guy get it removed from his record. The answer is forever as a practical matter, and probably never. So get a lawyer and get it right. Forever is a long time.

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Answered on 4/18/06, 10:51 am


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