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What should I do if I am in a car stopped for DUI?

After the mess that Reese Witherspoon created in Atlanta, GA, when her husband Jim Toth was stopped by a cop for DUI, I wondered what would a passenger in a stopped vehicle need to do in such a situation.  Now if the vehicle is stopped for some other minor violation like speeding or illegally changing lanes or having a broken light, the process for passengers is straightforward: stay in your seat till the process is over, do not interact on your own with the cop, and chances are nothing more will happen.  If the cop suspects that the driver of the vehicle is drunk, then, obviously he or she will not be allowed to drive the vehicle any more (arrest is made instead), but you maybe able to drive the vehicle home with the permission of the cop (assuming you are not drunk as well).  It is also likely that the vehicle is towed and you will need to find some transportation on your own (ask a friend to pick you up, ride on the tow truck, get a ride in the police car, call a taxi, etc.).  In this case, too, the best course of action is to simply do nothing but follow the orders of the police (including an order to get out of the car and be searched), unless you happen to be the owner of the vehicle, because in that case even though you were not driving, you maybe charged with letting your vehicle be used to commit a crime (driving under the influence).  In many cases, you maybe in greater trouble for being sober because you maybe (it is fairly rare for cops to do that but it can happen) arrested and charged with reckless endangerment for letting a drunk driver operate a vehicle.

But why was Reese Witherspoon not free to just walk away or 'stand on American soil,' as she wanted?  It was not her car and she was not driving.  This is where we need to look at the Supreme Court decision in Brendlin versus State of California in which the justices ruled that during a stop, the officer has seized not just the driver, but the vehicle and all its occupants, including people and contents.  In other words, while a passenger is not legally under arrest, but until the cop has allowed you to proceed, you have no freedom to just walk away.  This may seem like an abuse of power, but it has a positive side effect: you can actually as a passenger challenge the legality of that stop on the basis of the Fourth Amendment.

Obviously Reese was arrested for disorderly conduct because she was abusive, disrespectful, and was obstructing a law enforcement officer from doing his job, but if she had kept quiet, Toth alone would have been mostly likely in legal trouble.  So the conclusion is:
  1. Never be intoxicated when driving.
  2. Never get into a car with a driver who maybe intoxicated.  In fact, it is best to dissuade, if possible, this person from getting behind the wheel (after all we do not want people to have accidents).  If this person insists and you see him or her driving, call 911 and report the vehicle, so that this person does not harm himself, passengers, and others on the road.  Calling the police is not your choice, you are required by law to do so if you know that someone is definitely drunk and is driving.
  3. Never get into a vehicle with someone you do not know and trust because if they are caught carrying banned substances or if they are wanted criminals or if they have had too much to drink, you are unnecessarily going to get into a lot of trouble.
  4. When dealing with a law enforcement officer, be polite and follow orders.  Even if your rights are being violated, the best time and place to challenge them is in a court, not at the time a person is treading upon your rights.