Imagine that the police pull you over one night. You were drinking previously, but you don’t think you had enough to put you over the legal limit of 0.08. The police approach your vehicle and ask you to roll down your window. When this happens, the police smell a scent of alcohol, and they begin their typical procedures for investigating someone who may by intoxicated behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.
However, in the process of their investigation, the police make a mistake that would result in the elimination of the charges against you — but you don’t know this. So the case proceeds as normal. You don’t get a lawyer, and just accept your fate.
Obviously, not getting a lawyer was one of your first mistakes. But in a broader sense, this is a miscarriage of justice. The police did something wrong, and they shouldn’t be able to bring the charges against you as a result. This happens sometimes with DUI cases, and it is important for those who are accused of such offenses to realize that having a lawyer by your side makes it easier to identify the mistakes police made during the course of the investigation.
We bring all of this up in light of the president of the clothing company Sean John — Jeff Tweedy — was arrested on the suspicion of driving under the influence. However, the charges were later dropped for undisclosed reasons. Could it have been that a police mistake cost them the investigation?
Source: Page Six, “Sean John president’s drunk driving charges dismissed,” Rebecca Rosenberg, Jan. 23, 2015
