Legal Question in DUI Law in Washington
Being advised of rights
I was arested for a DUI a year ago,and found guilty. At
the time of my arest the officer did not advise me of my
rights, but to cover for it in his report he said he did it
twice. Once at the time he took me into custody and
then again over an hour later at the jail. The first time is
false, the second time is true. Were my rights violated?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Being advised of rights
Generally, the remedy for failure to advise an arrested person of his/her rights is suppression of statements. A motion to suppress based upon this reason must be filed before trial or a plea of guilty. Failure to file a motion to suppress is a waiver of such challenge.
Understand that even if you had prevailed on a motion to suppress for the officer's failure to advise you of your rights, the prosecutor would still have evidence on which to proceed: officer's and any witnesses' observations, BAC, physical evidence, etc.