Q: Please see information below.
I got a dui on 10/17/2017 I was told I was initially stopped for not completely stopping at a stop sign.
Questions 1: Am I able to ask them to provide video of this? And if they didn't have a video or proof of me not stopping, would all evidence after the stop be thrown out?
They also said I swerved a couple of times. I pulled over and a field sobriety test was done, I was arrested and car was impounded. I was in jail for 36 hours without bail. I was told I would get a court date in the mail and never did. 6 months later I was notified that there was a warrant out for me as of 3/19/2018 and I was not notified. I had a prior DUI in 2013 and blew a .18 and this time I blew a .18 again. My options are to post bond, or just turn myself in with a lawyer. Which is the best option?
A:
A lot is asked or implied in this query. I'll try to answer a few, but you may need to give me a call for a dialogue.
1. Discovery of squad car videos. If they have videos related to your case, they will allow a viewing free or normally provide a copy in return for reimbursement of the cost of making the copy. In DWI cases, usually there is a squad video since most police cars (though not all) have video and are set up to automatically start recording when the take down lights go on. The police officer can typically also manually start recording. As a result, sometimes there is claimed bad driving conduct that precedes the beginning of the video. But sometimes it's all there. A judge would not normally suppress all evidence after a stop based solely on the lack of video evidence.
2. Arrest warrants. Traditionally all arrest warrants were what we now call "body only warrants." Now some warrants have a dollar bond amount set when the warrant is issued. Most people prefer to pay the pre-set bail rather than turn themselves in, get booked into jail to clear the warrant, then eventually appear before a judge for a bail hearing. To post bail, the defendant can either post cash bail or buy a bail bond from a bail bond company. Once one of these has been done and the warrant cleared, the defendant will have a court appearance date. It's important to make every court appearance to avoid another warrant and forfeiture of the bail.
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