Three decisions that determine your night. One of them is the only one that matters.
Before you drink. During the night. After a stop. Most DUI cases are decided by what you do (or don't do) at each of these three moments. Here's what the right move actually looks like, and why.
You read all seven. That puts you ahead of most of the people who actually need this.
The six guides before this one each covered a single piece. This one assembles them into the three decisions that actually determine how a DUI night goes.
If you've forgotten what each guide covered, here's the short version:
- Rights: what you can refuse and what you can decline
- Drop Test: how fast your reflexes really are
- The Law: what Washington's DUI statute actually says
- Field Sobriety Tests: the tests you should decline
- Consequences: what a conviction really costs
- Time Test: how wrong about time you actually are
- This page: the three decisions that put it all together
Before the night starts
Why this is the only one that works
Most DUI cases trace back to a single decision: the person didn't pre-commit to a ride before they started drinking. Pre-commitment is the most powerful tool against impaired driving, because it removes the decision from your future, less-sober self.
By the time you've had two or three drinks, your judgment about whether you can drive has degraded along with everything else alcohol degrades. You're now asking a compromised version of yourself to make a clear-headed decision. That's not a system that works.
Picking your ride home before the first drink locks in a sober person's judgment. It's a small ritual that does the same work professional drivers do every shift: separate the decision from the moment of temptation.
Why the other answers fail
A. "I'll just have one or two." This is the most common rationalization in DUI cases. People start out planning two drinks and end up at five. By the time they've made the decision to stay longer, they're no longer the same person who made the decision to drive.
C. The "mostly sober" designated driver. Many DUI arrests involve a designated driver who had "just a couple." Washington's DUI statute applies at 0.08 BAC, which is two to three drinks for most adults. A "mostly sober" driver may already be over the legal limit. Worse, they're often the night's heaviest drinker who self-appointed as the responsible one.
D. Trust future-you. Future-you, after three drinks, is not the same person making this decision. Future-you will rationalize. Future-you will think they're fine. Future-you has been drinking. Don't trust them with the decision.
Mid-night, after a few
The principle
Uncertainty about your BAC is the data point. Sober people don't wonder whether they're under 0.08. They know. The question itself is the answer.
If you're consciously trying to estimate whether you're legal, you're already past the point where you can reliably make that call. The time perception guide covers this directly: time perception is the cognitive function that alcohol degrades earliest, and the "drink an hour" math depends entirely on accurate time perception. Once you're guessing, you're guessing with broken instruments.
Why A and B are real myths that get people convicted
"Wait an hour and drink coffee." Coffee doesn't lower your BAC. Only time metabolizes alcohol, and the rate is about 0.015 per hour, which means a 0.10 BAC takes about 90 minutes to fall to 0.085. Coffee gives you the alertness of a wide-awake drunk: same impairment, more confidence behind the wheel. That's arguably worse than nothing because it masks the symptom you should be using to gauge yourself.
"Eat something heavy. It absorbs the alcohol." Food slows alcohol absorption during drinking, which is why you feel less drunk when drinking with a meal. Once the alcohol is already in your bloodstream, food doesn't reverse anything. The cheeseburger after the third drink helps your stomach. It doesn't help your BAC.
Why D is the trap
"Sober-ish" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. In practice, the friend who's "had a couple but is fine" is often above 0.08 themselves and just hasn't been counting carefully. They're driving your car (which puts you in the passenger seat of a DUI in progress) and they're driving home tired, late at night, on roads where they're statistically more likely to encounter police.
If neither of you is sure who's safer, neither of you is safe enough. Call the rideshare.
After a stop
Why this is the line
Every DUI defense attorney in Washington could collapse their job description into those nine words. The reason: almost every DUI case is decided in the first two hours after the stop, and every decision in those two hours falls into one of three categories: staying calm, staying quiet, or calling a lawyer fast enough.
The patron who follows this line gives the State the least possible evidence to work with. The patron who doesn't gives the State everything they need. Most DUI cases turn on what the suspect said and did in the first 30 minutes. That window closes whether or not you know it's closing.
What each beat does
Stay calm
Hostility, panic, and erratic behavior all create probable cause that didn't exist before. Officers are trained to escalate when suspects act unstable. Calm doesn't help your case directly, but it prevents you from making the case worse.
Stay quiet
Voluntary admissions are the single most common source of DUI conviction evidence. "I had two glasses of wine with dinner." "I'm coming from a friend's birthday party." Each statement is admissible. None is required.
Call us first
You have the right to counsel during the breath testing decision. Use it. We answer the phone after hours, including from holding cells. The decisions made in the first 90 minutes shape the next year of your life.
Why the other options on Scene Three hurt the cases that pick them
"Tell the truth. You only had a few."
Honesty is admirable. It's also the single most common DUI mistake. A suspect who admits to "a few drinks" has just provided the State with voluntary evidence of consumption that doesn't need to be proven any other way. Combined with any observation of impairment, the admission becomes the spine of the case.
You're not required to lie. You're allowed to decline to answer. Saying "I'd prefer not to answer that without an attorney" is legal, polite, and protects you. Saying "I had two drinks with dinner three hours ago" is admissible against you for the rest of the case.
"Just take the breathalyzer. Get it over with."
This is the path-of-least-resistance trap, and it can be the wrong call. Washington has implied-consent for chemical testing, which means refusing the breath test at the station carries automatic license penalties (a 1-year revocation for a first refusal, longer for subsequent). But "just blow and get it over with" treats the breath test as a procedural inconvenience instead of what it is: the State's most direct evidence against you at trial.
The right move is not automatic on either side. It depends on what you've consumed, how long ago, what other evidence exists, and whether you've spoken to a lawyer. Washington gives you a limited right to consult counsel before deciding whether to submit to the breath test. Use it. A two-minute phone call with a defense attorney before you blow can change the entire shape of the case. "Just get it over with" assumes the test is neutral. It isn't.
"Step out. Perform sobriety tests. You've got this."
The field sobriety test guide covers this in detail. Even sober people fail standardized FSTs at significant rates under ideal conditions, and roadside conditions are never ideal. The tests are voluntary in Washington. Performing them rarely helps your case and almost always provides evidence the State otherwise wouldn't have.
Confidence has nothing to do with it. The tests are designed to be hard. Officers are trained to look for failure cues, not to confirm sobriety. The choice to perform them is the choice to add evidence to your file.
"The State doesn't win DUI cases. Suspects lose them, in the first two hours, by talking."
Before founding Baldwin Legal Group, Chester Baldwin served as a Rule-9 Prosecutor in Thurston County. The pattern he watched repeat from the State's side of the table: defendants would walk in with strong potential defenses and walk out with conviction-grade evidence, because they spent the first 90 minutes after arrest answering questions they didn't have to answer.
Most prosecutors don't have to work hard on DUI cases. The defendants do most of the work for them by talking. The defendants who win their cases tend to be the ones who said three things (name, address, and "I'd like to speak with my attorney") and nothing else.
After a stop: what to actually do
Your name and identifying information (driver's license, registration, proof of insurance). That's it. You're not required to answer questions about where you've been, where you're going, what you've had to drink, or how the evening has gone.
The phrase to memorize: "I'd prefer not to answer that without an attorney." It's legal, it's polite, and it can be repeated as often as needed.
Yes, enough to communicate with the officer and pass documents. This is part of cooperating with a lawful traffic stop. Refusing escalates the situation and can result in additional charges.
Compliance with reasonable lawful orders is required. Voluntary additional information is not.
Yes. Once an officer orders you out of the vehicle during a lawful traffic stop, you must comply. Refusing to exit is a separate offense and gives the officer grounds for arrest.
But getting out of the car is not the same as agreeing to perform field sobriety tests. You can comply with the order to exit while still declining FSTs.
Anytime. You can ask early. You should ask early. Washington gives you the right to counsel at the breath testing decision specifically. But you can invoke counsel from the moment of the stop. Officers must give you reasonable time and access to a phone before the breath test.
Asking for a lawyer doesn't make you look guilty. It looks like the move of someone who's seen this before.
The roadside Portable Breath Test (PBT) is voluntary in Washington and not admissible to prove BAC in court. The official station breath test (the DataMaster) is subject to implied consent: refusing triggers an automatic 1-year administrative license suspension under RCW 46.20.3101.
Whether to refuse is one of the most case-specific decisions in DUI defense. It depends on what evidence the State already has, what your prior history looks like, and what kind of case you're facing. This is the moment to have an attorney on the phone, not after.
Generally only with consent, with probable cause, with a warrant, or under specific exceptions (search incident to arrest, plain-view, inventory after impoundment). You can decline consent to a search. Declining is your right; it doesn't create probable cause.
If asked "do you mind if I take a look?" the answer is "I don't consent to any searches." Polite, clear, doesn't escalate.
The principles don't change. Stay calm. Stay quiet. Ask for your attorney. Do not volunteer information during booking, in transport, or to other detainees. The interview room is recorded. The patrol car is recorded. The holding cell often is.
Once you've asked for an attorney, questioning should stop. If officers continue questioning anyway, your attorney can use that against the State later. Your job is to remain consistent and not give them anything new.
Call 360.206.2826. We answer after hours. If you have the time and a phone, also save the contact now (the button in the header on this page does that with one tap).
If you're calling from a station phone, identify yourself, give your location, and let us know you've been arrested. We'll take it from there.
Family members can absolutely call us. In fact, many of our cases start with a spouse or parent calling at 1 AM. We'll coordinate with them and reach you as quickly as possible. Save our number on your phone and theirs.
One note: most jails allow only outgoing calls from holding. Make sure the person you'd want called knows in advance to expect a call and to contact us if they hear from you.
Most of our clients have made at least one of them. People talk. People perform FSTs. People consent to searches because they didn't know they could decline. None of that is fatal.
What matters more than what happened is what we do next. Bodycam and dashcam footage retention windows are limited. Calibration records on the breath test machine need to be subpoenaed quickly. The DOL hearing window is 7 days from arrest. Whatever happened, the time to call is now, not later.
Why clients across Western Washington call us first
Both Sides of the Courtroom
Rule-9 prosecutor experience in Thurston County, then 19 years of defense. We know how DUI cases are built and where the State's leverage points are.
20+ Years
Two decades of criminal defense practice with deep focus on DUI, complex stops, and consequence mitigation.
Local Authority
Olympia-based. Frequent media commentary on TVW, KUOW, OPB, and Cascade PBS on Washington legal and policy matters. Known in the courts that matter to your case.
Direct Attorney Contact
Free initial consultation. After-hours availability. Transparent pricing. Your case, your attorney. Not a referral mill.
This is the page. This is the line.
If you have already been stopped or arrested, do not wait. Some deadlines in a Washington DUI case are short and are lost if missed.