If you have been arrested for a DUI then chances are you were offered the field sobriety tests by the arresting officer. If you follow this blog then you will know that in my opinion these so called “tests” are designed for people to fail. And because of this DUI Attorneys have always advised those facing these tests to politely decline. However due to the recent case of State v. Mecham it seems drivers are damned if they do the tests, and damned if they don’t do the tests.

Here is a refresher on State v. Mecham. In case you forgot that case held that a field sobriety test is an exception to the warrant requirement pursuant to a Terry stop and therefore it is a reasonable search and a warrant is not required. Secondly because a warrant is not required it is not protected by the 4th amendment and therefore a Prosecutor can comment on a defendant’s refusal to perform the field sobriety tests because there is no constitutional right to refuse the test. In other words a Prosecutor can argue in trial the reason a defendant declined the tests is because they knew they were going to fail and guilty. Talk about some BS huh? Well its getting worse.

In the past few months I have had several Judges find that police officers can now use a driver’s refusal as evidence of guilt and subsequently use it justification for probable cause to arrest. Say what you’re asking? Yes that read that correctly, let me paint a picture for you.

Let’s say you get stopped for a DUI in King County, WA and you had a single drink. You exhibit no coordination issues, no slurred speech, no facial color issues, no finger dexterity issues, no signs of impairment. Only the odor of alcohol. The officer then asks you to exit the vehicle and perform some “voluntary” field sobriety tests. You politely decline like any Seattle DUI Attorney would and you get arrested. Seems like there would be a problem with probable cause, right? Well not according to many Judges here in King County. As soon as you exercise this right, after all these tests are voluntary aren’t they, a Judge will find the arresting officer had probable cause to arrest you because only a guilty person would decline these tests. Talk about some bullshit.

So the moral of the story. If you get stopped for a DUI then you’re damned if you do the tests, and you’re damned if you decline the tests. Either way you will get arrested for a DUI, and either way a Judge will find there was probable cause to arrest. Hopefully this State v. Mecham case goes on to the Washington State Supreme Court and gets overturned because I’m sick to my stomach thinking about this case.

Not only can a Prosecutor argue a driver refused the field sobriety tests because they were guilty, but now a Judge can find probable cause if a driver refused the tests based on this silly reasoning.

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About the author: Matthew Leyba is a DUI Attorney in Seattle, WA. He has been repeatedly recognized as a Rising Star in the field of DUI Defense by the Seattle Met Magazine. He is also rated a perfect 10 out of 10 by Avvo.com, a lawyer rating service.

A recent Seattle Times article can out confirming what a lot of DUI Attorneys already knew.  The Washington State Patrol has begun rolling out the new breath test machines in Washington State.  Speaking on behalf of the WSP, Trooper Mel Sterkel confirmed 83 of the new Dräger Alcotest 9510 machines will be placed in police and sheriff’s stations, jails and State Patrol divisions in northeast and southeast Washington.

So what does this mean?  Well nothing at the moment.  Until the training begins with law enforcement the machines will just sit in these breath test rooms.  However once the training starts look for these machines to be put in use.  I bet by the middle of next year they will to be used in certain jurisdictions.  Although look for the old breath test machines to be used as well because only law enforcement that have received training on the new breath test machines will be allowed to use them.

I recently attended a CLE on these new breath test machines.  And I have to tell you I think there are going to be some issues when they start getting put to use.  Specifically how they were stored.  From what I hear these machines were just sitting in boxes in a storage unit and forgotten about.  They were really cared for.

Imagine buying a brand new computer and just putting it in your garage and keeping there for several years without ever opening the box.  I don’t know about you but I would have a little concern about whether it was going to work properly.  And I would have a lot of concern if their reliability and accuracy determined a drivers loss of liberty.  To me it is just one more example of the WSP and the State Toxicologist office in Washington State being lazy and careless when it comes to the liberties of Washingtonians.  Keep an eye out for future blog posts on this topic.

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About the author:  Matthew Leyba is a DUI lawyer in Seattle.  He is the owner of Leyba Defense PLLC a DUI law firm located in the heart of downtown Seattle.

Back in my younger days Halloween was always a good excuse to have a party especially when it landed on a Friday like this year. Costumes, the upcoming weekend, and alcohol make for a bad combination. So I know how it goes during this time of year. However there will be extra DUI emphasis patrols in the Seattle area so please use good judgment and don’t consume a single drop of alcohol and drive.

I know I harp on this all the time but there is really no such thing as a legal limit anymore when it comes to DUIs, especially in the Seattle area. Hopefully the more times I blog about this, people will come to understand this craziness. Nowadays if you have a single drink you’re at risk to get arrested for a DUI, especially in Seattle. Where the police don’t seem to care if you’re under the “legal limit,” and certainly the Prosecutors don’t care because they will file a DUI charge regardless of what the breath test results are. They will find a way to charge you with a DUI.

So don’t put yourself in that position. Heck in the past year I have represented several people charged with DUI here in Seattle that have been far under the legal limit. One person was even at a 0.022, which is ridiculous they got charged with a DUI but that is another story. And I tell people all the time this is just how it is here in Seattle. It really is unfortunate that a few bad apples in the past few years have made it so people can’t have a single drink and then drive home. But that is just the reality of the current DUI laws in Seattle. Nevertheless this is the new norm now so beware and exercise good judgement.

From all of us at Leyba Defense PLLC have a happy and safe Halloween!

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About the author: Matthew Leyba is the owner of Leyba Defense PLLC, a DUI law firm located in Seattle. He is rated a perfect 10 out of 10 by Avvo.com, and has been named on of Seattle’s best DUI lawyers by the Seattle Met Magazine’s annual “Best of” issue.

Tis the judicial election season here in King County, WA.  In case you haven’t followed my blog there are several prominent judicial races in our County.  One of the most highly publicized is in Seattle Municipal Court.  Between incumbent Judge Fred Bonner and the challenger former defense attorney Damon Shadid.  Recently I saw an article in the Seattle Stranger, a local newspaper about this race.

If you follow local politics at all.  Especially these judicial races.  You will know there is a local political action committee called Citizens for Judicial Excellence.  I have written about them before.  Basically they consist of criminal defense attorneys, typically DUI Defense Attorneys.  They have raised a large war chest they sit on and they back certain judicial candidates during these elections.  In the past they have been successful in having the candidates they back win the election.

As in all politics this PAC consisting of DUI Attorneys has caused some debate.  Whether they are truly backing the best candidate or simply one that will be easier on their clients.  I can imagine this can almost cause a backlash in the eyes of the general public for the candidate they are backing.

Imagine being asked why this PAC is backing you financially, and whether you will kowtow to their clients.  If I was a candidate even though it would be flattering to have any PAC endorse and back you I would rather not have this particular one do so.  And this is exactly what candidate Damon Shadid has done.  In fact of the money he received from them he has given back.

And I have to say I think this was not only a brilliant move but probably a tough decision.  I imagine running for any kind of elected position takes money.  And no matter who you are or what race you’re in there is probably never enough.  So giving away money that is probably needed in order to give yourself the best chance of being elected is one smart move.  One that certainly deserves kudos.

Here is the article if you want to read it.

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About the author:  Matthew Leyba is a DUI Lawyer in Seattle.  Ranked as one of the best DUI Attorneys in Seattle by his peers.  Matthew exclusively represents clients charged with DUI and DUI related offenses.

Ah the political season is upon us.  Especially in King County where there are several municipal and district court level judicial elections that are are becoming hot topics here in Seattle.  One such race is in the Seattle Municipal Court between long time incumbent Judge Fred Bonner and his challenger former defense attorney Damon Shadid.  While thinking of topics for this blog I came across this article from a local television station back in late August.

Apparently KIRO 7 News here in Seattle conducted a 3 month stakeout of Judge Bonner driving from his home to work.  Seems like a strange stakeout, right?  Well according to the news station I guess Judge Bonner for the past 10 years or so has been receiving a discounted parking rate in a City of Seattle parking garage.  Saving him about $12k over the last decade in parking fees.

During this stakeout KIRO News 7 watched him drive himself to work and not have any passengers in his vehicle.  When approached by the reporter the Judge said he has had passengers and just didn’t have any for the past few weeks or so.  Regardless this made news headlines here in Seattle and now some are questioning this particular Judge’s character to continue to sit on the bench and here misdemeanor cases including many DUI arrests in Seattle.

Politics are a dirty business.  This is one of the most contested races here in Seattle.  Makes you wonder who tipped off the press regarding this piece of information.  At the bottom of the article it states very clearly it was not the challenger Damon Shadid.

Anyway should be an interesting race, stay tuned for my political news and fallout from these Judicial elections here in King County.  Here is the article in case you want to read it.

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About the author:  Matthew Leyba is a DUI Lawyer in Seattle, WA.  He has been repeatedly recognized as a Rising Star in the field of DUI Defense by both the Seattle Met Magazine, and the Super Lawyers Magazine.  He is also rated a perfect 10 out of 10 by Avvo.com and listed as a Superb DUI lawyer in Seattle.

In July 2014 I wrote about the State v. Martines case which involved search warrants and blood tests. If you remember that court held the extraction of blood from a drunk driving suspect is a search. And testing the blood sample is a second search. Because a blood test involves a second search the State may not conduct tests on a lawfully procured blood sample without first obtaining a warrant that authorizes testing and specifies the types of evidence for which the sample may be tested.

So how are things unfolding in King County regarding this issue. From what I hear down in the trenches this particular issue is being received well by the Judges. Meaning the Judge’s that have heard this issue are suppressing the blood tests where the warrant didn’t contain language about “searching the blood test” in other words analyzing it for alcohol or drugs, etc.

Because of this and as I predicted many Prosecutor offices are choosing to have the blood retested under a new subpoena with the new and more detailed language. However due to the volume of this not only in King County but the State of Washington, many Prosecutors are picking and choosing which ones to do this on.

From what I hear if the DUI involves a prior offense then it will be done. Obviously any felony situation it will be done. In some cases if the case involved an accident then it will be requested. And lastly if there is no other evidence other than the blood test then most of those cases will be retested.

So what does that mean if you got arrested for a DUI in King County and your case involved one of these search warrant blood tests. Well if it was a run of the mill DUI where you simply refused the breath test and a warrant was done for a blood test than most likely your DUI will not have that blood test. Since the Prosecutors will most likely choose not to have it retested.

Now obviously every situation is different and certainly I’m in no position to predict what will happen on every one of these cases. So it is best to speak with an experienced DUI Attorney in Seattle to specifically discuss what may happen on a pending DUI involving a blood test. But I have spoken with several Prosecutors in several different Courts and they all seem to be saying the same thing to me. As this issue unfolds more and becomes more clear I will post an update in the future.

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About the author: Matthew Leyba is a DUI Attorney in Seattle, WA. He has been named on of the best Seattle DUI Attorneys by both Avvo.com and the Seattle Met Magazine.