Alcohol & Drugs: DUI, DWI Was this legal? Arrested for driving with limited permit

[LoriLai2992]

Jurisdiction

Georgia

Okay so this is long and I want to give as much info and background as I can so please bear with me.

My husband received a DUI two years ago. He was waiting on a tow truck on the side of the road; first officer stopped and saw what was going on and decided to let him go but another pulled up, had a grudge against him for being an Army Veteran and although he passed field sobriety he used a breathalyzer anyway. It came back .087 or somewhere around there.

He was arrested but vehicle was not impounded. (Friend came and got it).

Being a disabled veteran he is on a fixed income but the judge made an example out of him and threw the book at him with hefty fines, and being on probation until he paid it all off. It could have been done with 6 months later but because of income issues he has had to slowly pay it off-- plus some fee for the probation officer-- and was finally going to be done with it come this June.

He has a limited permit that his probation officer told him was valid for any necessities he needed when a licensed driver was not available. So he was told groceries for the kids, school, medical reasons, etc.
this is all a first for him and he is such a rule follower he's been following everything to the "T"

Fast forward to Friday evening:
I was driving 2 hrs away to meet with his ex to drop off the step kids while he was stuck at work. After dropping them off I checked the time and saw he would be home by now and called begging him to spin back out for groceries and diapers because I didn't want to have to unload our other 3 kids by myself and deal with them in the store, I just wanted to get home after being out all afternoon.

He said sure and that was that

When I got home I noticed he left his phone and checked the time realizing he should be home any minute so I sat in the living room waiting and watching a bad storm rolling in.

3 hrs later as I was frantically calling the local hospital trying to find out if he had been in a wreck he came home soaked and empty handed.

Apparently a click it or ticket campaign was going on and they had the road into the west side of town blocked checking driver's licenses.
The officer checked his limited permit and asked where he was going. When he told him food the officer said his permit only covered him driving to work. My husband apologized and asked to borrow a phone to call me to come get him and the car-- officer refused and arrested him and impounded the vehicle knowing it would be stuck in impound the whole holiday weekend. He was never told his Miranda rights.

He was now home with no car, no money and no groceries.

How can they do that? Is that legal or the just thing to do?

When I have called to get answers I am told he has multiple DUI's-- a lie
or that he didn't have the breathalyzer unit thing installed-- wasn't a requirement for him so another lie.

I feel like I'm in the twilight zone. My husband went out for groceries and diapers and came home stripped of everything. What the heck?

He has court July 19th but by then his license will be fixed and probation over with the last payment made so I'm not really sure what to expect if anyone has some insight.

 

[army judge]

He was never told his Miranda rights.

Miranda Rights are only required in a few narrow circumstances, this was NOT one of those circumstances.

How can they do that?

He did it to himself, and you contributed to it by asking to go to the store.
He further made it worse by allegedly imbibing alcohol to excess.
The fact that he and I are both veterans (I am a COMBAT veteran with four tours in Nam) mean nothing except he gets a disability check as do I, and my army pension check.

My veteran status means no more or no less than my status as a citizen of this great nation.

Is that legal or the just thing to do?

Yes, arresting drunk drivers is 100% legal.
Arresting people who can't follow simple rules of a "special" license, also 100% legal.

Even if any of it was illegal, only the person arrested has a right to defend himself in court, not his mother, father, sister, cousin, sibling, or his wife, just the defendant.

He has court July 19th but by then his license will be fixed and probation over with the last payment made so I'm not really sure what to expect if anyone has some insight.

One thing MIGHT be over, but another thing is just beginning.

I suspect he'll also be charged with violating his probation, so prepare for another legal storm.

He needs a lawyer.
He also needs to not speak of this.
His relatives should also not speak of this, as this matter is best addressed before a court of law, not an internet clown court.

 

[LoriLai2992]

Miranda Rights are only required in a few narrow circumstances, this was NOT one of those circumstances.



He did it to himself, and you contributed to it by asking to go to the store.
He further made it worse by allegedly imbibing alcohol to excess.
The fact that he and I are both veterans (I am a COMBAT veteran with four tours in Nam) mean nothing except he gets a disability check as do I, and my army pension check.

My veteran status means no more or no less than my status as a citizen of this great nation.




Yes, arresting drunk drivers is 100% legal.
Arresting people who can't follow simple rules of a "special" license, also 100% legal.

Even if any of it was illegal, only the person arrested has a right to defend himself in court, not his mother, father, sister, cousin, sibling, or his wife, just the defendant.



One thing MIGHT be over, but another thing is just beginning.

I suspect he'll also be charged with violating his probation, so prepare for another legal storm.

He needs a lawyer.
He also needs to not speak of this.
His relatives should also not speak of this, as this matter is best addressed before a court of law, not an internet clown court.

I don't think his veteran status puts him above anyone else. The officer who charged him the DUI-- mind you he was not driving he had called a tow truck because he did not want to drive-- was the one who told him he "knew his type" and knew he was drunk and made several inappropriate comments about how he was ex so and so of the National Guard and couldn't stand him and the army veteran hot shots.


As far as not following the rules of the permit he was TOLD what he was allowed to use it for and followed those rules. We've already contacted his probation officer who is going to come to court and vouch for him. We just moved counties so his probation officer is in another county.

I'm just confused as to why an officer would have slammed him for what could be a misunderstanding and then LIE about why he was arrested-- I was told multiple DUIs and such which is a LIE.

 

[army judge]

I don't think his veteran status puts him above anyone else. The officer who charged him the DUI-- mind you he was not driving he had called a tow truck because he did not want to drive-- was the one who told him he "knew his type" and knew he was drunk and made several inappropriate comments about how he was ex so and so of the National Guard and couldn't stand him and the army veteran hot shots.


As far as not following the rules of the permit he was TOLD what he was allowed to use it for and followed those rules. We've already contacted his probation officer who is going to come to court and vouch for him. We just moved counties so his probation officer is in another county.

I'm just confused as to why an officer would have slammed him for what could be a misunderstanding and then LIE about why he was arrested-- I was told multiple DUIs and such which is a LIE.

You, nor was I, present when he was arrested.

I'm just another Internet piece of nothing.

If a person has been arrested, he or she should use the right to remain silent, and seek the counsel of a lawyer.

 

[adjusterjack]

My husband went out for groceries and diapers and came home stripped of everything. What the heck?

Well, here's the statute. Nothing in there about groceries and diapers.

2017 Georgia Code :: Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic :: Chapter 5 - Drivers' Licenses :: Article 3 - Cancellation, Suspension, and Revocation of Licenses :: § 40-5-64. Limited driving permits for certain offenders

I know, his PO "told" him. "I was told" is the most dangerous phrase in the English Language.

he should use the right to remain silent, and seek the counsel of a lawyer.

Ditto that.

 

[mightymoose]

...although he passed field sobriety he used a breathalyzer anyway.

I hear this comment often.
Unless you have been trained to give sobriety tests you likely do not know what observations an officer is making and you can not reasonably argue that a person passed or failed the sobriety test.
In my experience most people are already failing the test before I ask them to do anything. Being able to stand still and listen to instructions is part of the test.
Whether or not a breath test is done is not totally dependant on the results of the sobriety test.

 

[leslie82]

Perhaps your ex should have found out exactly what that limited permit allowed him to do. If it was only to and from work that's. I'd double check what even a PO said to me.

Also when he got the DUI - he was drunk. He was over the legal limit. Facts. You don't have to be driving to get a DUI. You could be asleep in the backseat with the cars in the ignition and get a DUI. Some states have more restrictive DUI laws than others. Arizona has one called "DUI in the slightest" which you could blow 0.00 and if the cop thinks you're intoxicated arrest you.

You shouldn't have asked him to get groceries knowing he's on a limited permit. Simple as that. My ex husband has had 4 DUIs. I had to drive everywhere. Even if he would have had a limited permit I would have not asked him to pick up anything if that wasn't allowed.

You only know what your husband told you when he was arrested for his DUI. You weren't there. Maybe the officer said that. Maybe not. He can't prove it.

Start looking for a lawyer.