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| The officer must be challenged for a successful Seattle dui case. The reality is that the strength of the officer's testimony will be matched up against the strength of the defendant's testimony. The defense is placed at a natural credibility disadvantage although anyone who has ever been arrested for a crime knows that police officers: |
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- a. Can't remember a lot of details
- b. Embellish
- c. Sometimes are untruthful
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| The police officer must be pinned down. At the deposition a warning shot must be fired over the police officers bow. It should be some deviation of this: |
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| "Officer Smith tell me the locations, description of the people and types of vehicles they were driving for the three previous dui arrests you made prior to my client Mr. Doe." |
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| "Officer Smith tell me how many dui stops you have made for defendants leaving the location Mr. Doe left." |
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| "Officer Smith draw for me the locations of your police car as well as the defendants car. Show me on the drawing where you began following and where you pulled the defendant over." |
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| "Officer Smith tell me if the defendant was polite and cautious when dealing with you during the stop." |
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| "Office Smith out of the 5 prior stops and 5 post stops you have made, when you pulled people over and suspected that the defendant had been drinking, how many of these people did you let leave without taking the field sobriety test? How many of these people passed the field sobriety test that you administered?" |
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| All competent Seattle dui defense attorneys know that the police officer must be attacked. The critical element here is that it be proven that: |
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- a. The police officer does not remember the events of that evening very well
- b. The police officer fails almost everyone that he/she stops who has been drinking
- c. The officer will more than likely not be able to make a diagram and therefore you will not be faced with an exhibit at trial that is detailed and has a car placement that looks like a drunk parked the car. (In many parts of the U.S. a prosecutor favorite)
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