UW All American arrested for DUI....It can happen to anyone

University of Washington All American Tight End Austin Seferian-Jenkins was arrested for a DUI over this weekend in Seattle, WA.  Normally I don't like to just post links to articles on my blog, but rather write some substance and relevant content for the readers.  

The reason I'm doing this today is to show that if a UW All American can have a Seattle DUI arrest, anybody can.  Here is a guy that has everything going for him.  I have watched him terrorize my Utes time and time again.  Heck he is so good that last year he was playing defensive end in the Utah game and just dominating our offensive line.  But despite all this, he is not immune to a DUI arrest, and neither are you.  

Most people out there think that if they have a couple drinks, and they eat something then they are okay to drive.  Well I'm here to tell you the game has changed, and that no longer is the case.  In fact it is my professional and personal opinion that the legal limit of .08 doesn't matter to law enforcement.  Remember when I posted an article about a Washington State Trooper saying he doesn't care what the legal limit is of the people he arrests for DUI.  That it is his job to take people off the street that he feels are impaired, regardless of what their blood alcohol content is.

Now I don't know what happened in this case.  But I find it hard to believe that Seferian-Jenkins would risk everything he has worked for if he didn't think he was okay to drive.  Could he have made a mistake and had a few too many drinks?  Perhaps.  Did he think that a few drinks would not affect his ability to drive, and did he buy into the hype that is put out there that a drink an hour some how makes you immune from a DUI arrest.  Perhaps.  

The point I want to make is just don't drink and then drive.  Regardless of what you eat.  Regardless of how many glasses of water you have.  Regardless if you limit yourself to a drink an hour.  Now a days you will get arrested regardless of what you alcohol level was.  I once represented a client who had a .03 blood alcohol content.  Let me repeat that a 0.03.  That is probably the equivalent of a half a glass of wine.  In the end I was able to get her DUI dismissed.  But she still had to go through the court process.  She still had to hire an attorney.  And she still had to go through the shame of being arrested for a DUI.  

The other point I want to make is if for some reason you find yourself in the position of being investigated for a DUI by the Seattle Police, Washington State Patrol, or any other police agency in Washington State.  For love of god please don't do the field sobriety tests.  These tests are completely voluntarily, and you have the right to not do them.  

I can't tell you how many times I have represented people who have a very low blood alcohol level, but yet somehow they managed to fail these tests.  Now whether they actually didn't perform well, or the arresting Officer was a bit overzealous and perhaps embellished portions of the performance.  It doesn't matter.  At every stage of the criminal process your performance on those tests will be used against you.  And guess what no matter how you think you did, the arresting Officer will always say you failed.  That is just the name of the game unfortunately.  

So bottom line.  Don't drink and drive.  Don't risk everything you have worked for.  But if you do find yourself in Mr. Seferian-Jenkins position then do the only thing you can control and hire the best Seattle DUI lawyer you can find to help navigate you through the process, and try to minimize the consequences and risks you face.

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Matthew Leyba is a Seattle DUI Lawyer who represents clients accused of DUI and other related offenses.  He is currently rated by Avvo as a 10/10, listed as a Top DUI Attorney in his field, and was recently named a 2013 Rising Star by Super Lawyers Magazine in the field of DUI defense.  A honor less than 2.5% of Attorneys receive.