Washington State DUI Video Tape Evidence

Was your DUI arrested video recorded?  Increasingly, law enforcement vehicles are equipped with dashboard video recording equipment, and officers wear microphones to record conversations on traffic stops.  In addition to recording your contact with the officer at the roadside, a recording may also have been made of your driving and field sobriety testing. As a result, Washington State DUI videotape evidence may be used in your DUI case by the prosecution or, if the video is favorable to you, the defense.

Aside from law enforcement video recordings, your driving or arrest may have been recorded by public cameras (such as WSDOT) or private security cameras (such as those used by businesses).  If you suspect that this is the case, it is crucial that you or your lawyer immediately request that the video be preserved, or subpoena the video, before it is “recycled.”

Under Washington State law, a law enforcement officer must advise a person if the conversation is being audio recorded—but the officer need not advise that a video recording is being made so long as there is no audio.  The advisement that a person is being audio recorded must be recorded on the audio—it is not enough for an officer to say he or she told the person they were being audio recorded—the advisement must be on the audio track.

Audio and video recordings are important tools in your defense.  A seasoned and well-trained DUI lawyer will be able to determine whether the officer gave proper instructions for the field sobriety tests.  If the instructions were not precisely given as proscribed in the training, a judge may grant a motion to exclude field sobriety test evidence.

Some jurisdictions videotape the breath testing process.  A lawyer will review this to determine whether or not the officer followed the protocols required by law—if not, the breath test result may be excluded from evidence.

In certain cases, a good DUI lawyer will know how to exploit any problems with the video or audio—such as lost or partially lost video or audio—to the client’s advantage. 

Ms. Callahan has successfully used video and audio evidence in defending her clients.  She is certified to administer field sobriety tests and knows when the instructions are given incorrectly. If you have questions about your dui arrest video, call us now for you’re a free consultation.