Legal Lens: Viewing Law Through Ingrum Expertise
If you are pulled over by the police, then there are certain things that you should always do, and certain things that you should never do. Always pull over immediately as soon as it is safe to do so. Pull over as far to the right as you can and put the car in park. Turn on your interior dome light so that the officer can see what you are doing in your vehicle. Take out your driver's license, auto insurance card, and registration. Roll down your passenger side front window. Hand your driver's license, auto insurance card, and registration to the officer.
Always be polite. Understand that you have a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Typically, you are not going to talk your way out of trouble, but you can talk your way into more trouble. You have a right not to answer any of the officer's questions. You have a right to counsel. You have a right to have counsel present during any and all questioning. You have a right to stop answering questions at any time.
If you are asked to step out of the vehicle, then you should do so. You should comply with all of the officer's lawful commands. Do not resist arrest. Do not videotape or audiotape the officer with your cell phone as this will only upset the officer.
All interactions with police are typically video recorded on the officer's body camera or their dash camera or both. The officer typically wears a shoulder microphone that picks up audio too. So, there should be a record of what occurs during the traffic stop.
Don’t try to litigate your case on the side of a busy street. If the officer is going to give you a ticket or arrest you, then there is little if anything that you can do about it right then and there. Save yourself some trouble, and be quiet, be compliant, invoke your 5th Amendment right to remain silent, and request to speak to a lawyer.
Once the interaction is complete on the side of the road or once you have bonded out of jail, then you should give the Ingrum Law Firm, PLLC a call at 615-452-6613. We would be glad to meet with you and answer any and all of your legal questions regarding your specific situation!
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