DUI: What Gives Cops Reasonable Suspicion to Pull Me Over?
There are only two things that give a police officer the right to stop you if they suspect you have been driving under the influence:
1. The police officer observes you commit a traffic violation (i.e. you ran a red light), or
2. They observe you driving in an extremely incompetent manner. (i.e. frequently swerving)
It’s important to remember that, in spite of a police officer’s claims against you, it’s not certain that this evidence will hold up in court. A good lawyer will ask to get the patrol car’s and the officer’s camera footage. If the stop was illegal, we will file a suppression motion, under Penal Code 1538.5, where the Court will examine this issue. If the Court concludes that the arresting officer did not have reasonable suspicion to detain you (pull you over), then any evidence/statements that were made as a result of the unlawful detention will be excluded. Once the evidence is excluded, the prosecution’s case becomes much weaker and may fall apart.