As a DWI defendant, what are my rights?
You have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney, even if you cannot afford to hire one yourself. You also have the right to be protected from unreasonable police searches. Ok, that being said, an officer has the right to ask you questions relating to his suspicion of DWI/DUI and is not required at that point to read you your “Miranda” warnings. “Miranda” only applies to “custodial interrogation” and a traffic stop and subsequent questions are not considered to be a “custodial interrogation.” That being said though, you can bet that anything you say in response to such questioning can and will be used against you at court. Basically though, you only have to give the officer identifying information and provide him with a driver’s license and you do not have to answer any questions regarding anything else. BUT, the practical side to exercising your right to remain silent will be that the officer will arrest you and charge you with DWI for sure, if he has the least bit of
