Legal Question in DUI Law in Pennsylvania
Actually three questions!
A week ago i was stopped by a state trooper for speeding in a 25 (supposedly by radar). I was coming down main st (east bound)and making a right at the intersection he was sitting at. He pulled out as i turned onto that street (south bound). He must of turned around quick b/c as soon as i made the left into the alley(east bound) he was behind me. I was arrested for suspicion of dui and taken to the hosp for blood work. On the way up they pulled someone else over for expired tags i think....with me in the back! Is this right to do??
Well when it came out in the paper under drunken driving the police reported that i ''was charged after a traffic stop on west main st, just west of Race St''. This is not where it even happened. Could that be a defense?
Thirdly, i read somewhere... U.S. v. Lambert: A defendant was seized while agents held his driver's license for 20 minutes....What is this about? I never got my license back until just before i left the hospital. Any info or help is appreciated!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Actually three questions!
First--of course you were "seized." You were arrested and in a police car. The question in all cases is whether the seizure is legal.
In this case, you were stopped for speeding, therefore, the seizure was legal (if, in fact, that's what happened). It probably isn't proper state police procedure to make a minor traffic stop with someone in custody, but it certainly isn't a defense to your charge. Also, what matters in terms of facts is what's in the affidavit of probable cause, and what the police officer testifies to. What's in the newspaper doesn't have anything to do with anything.
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