FJ Journal No. 2 - Driving While Intoxicated - Part 1.5: Voluntary Encounters
5/11/2024
Welcome back to the FJ Journal! I have titled this article “Part 1.5” because it is only intended to expand on a concept that was briefly discussed in Part 1: the concept of voluntary police encounters. As always, if you or someone you know seeks legal advice, please contact our office and schedule a free consultation.
As discussed in Part 1, the Supreme Court of the United States, has ruled that a police officer must have a Constitutionally valid reason to conduct a traffic stop.[1] Therefore, as long as the officers can explain some reason to stop you (i.e. running a stop sign, following someone to closely, not signaling a turn, or even littering, etc.) it does not matter whether they already suspected you of being involved in another crime, such as DWI in this case. In Part 1, I also pointed out that this does not apply to voluntary encounters with police.
For those familiar with the prosecution and defense of DWIs, you will know that the DWI cases where the initial contact with the officer is voluntary are but a fraction of these types of cases: the vast majority of DWIs involve the officer making a traffic stop for one reason or another, as discussed in Part 1, and then discovering possible signs of intoxication which allows them to conduct a full DWI investigation. However, it is still important to know about cases involving voluntary encounters for when they do arise.
So what is a voluntary encounter? These encounters usually involve an officer simply coming across a person in public, and not in the process of committing a crime or traffic infraction. The most basic example of this is an officer on patrol stopping to speak with someone walking on the sidewalk to see if they have seen anything worth reporting. To do so, the officer does not require reasonable suspicion or probable cause to speak to this person or ask questions.[2] Similarly, in this situation the person addressed by the officer would be free to simply walk away without saying a word to the officer, however rude that may be.
In DWI cases, the most common situation involves an officer on patrol pulling up to a stop sign or traffic light and noticing that a vehicle does not move for a prolonged period of time or when the light turns green. Like any concerned citizen, the officer can (and likely should) get out of his patrol and check on the driver of the stationary vehicle to make sure that he is not in any danger. These actions on the part of the officer are lawful but can often lead to a DWI investigation and charges. If you find yourself in this situation, contact us immediately!
That will conclude FJ Journal No. 2. In the next articles, we will move past the initial stop and discuss the various aspects of a DWI investigation. See you then!
Arturo J. Reyes
Attorney and Counselor at Law
[1] Whren v. U.S., 517 U.S. 806, 116 S. Ct. 1769, 135 L. Ed. 2d 89 (1996)
[2] U.S. v. Drayton, 536 U.S. 194 (2002)