From Mel Gibson's racial rants targeted at a police officer during a DUI arrest, to Lindsay Lohan’s bizarre car chase while wearing an alcohol monitoring device, Hollywood isn't short of bad examples of how to behave during a DUI arrest.
Earlier this month, actress Estella Warren was arrested for DUI after she was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Soon after, the actress, best known for her role in the remake of Planet of the Apes, had a mini meltdown. She began attacking the police officers who arrested her, screaming and trying to get away from them, reports indicate. She was taken to the police station, where she somehow managed to get out of her handcuffs and tried to escape from the station.
The police officers finally managed to restrain her. She was charged with driving under the influence, resisting arrest, assault on a law enforcement officer and an additional charge of felony escape.
It's not just celebrities who often mess up their chances of a solid DUI defense by behaving inappropriately after an arrest. However, they do provide examples of how important it is to maintain a calm, cool head when you have been charged with DUI.
For instance, assaulting the police officer who arrests you, and kicking and screaming at him will not help your case. Trying to resist arrest is another tactic that New Jersey criminal defense attorneys would not advise. The worst thing that you could possibly do is panic and make a mad dash out of the patrol car or, as Warren did, out of the station.
As a person charged with DUI in New Jersey, you have the right to remain silent and to a lawyer. Use those rights, and your New Jersey DUI lawyer will be in a much stronger position to help you.
The New Jersey DUI lawyers at Helmer Paul Conley and Kasselman represent persons charged with DUI across New Jersey.
