Nashville DUI and Constitutional Warrantless Arrests

Often I am asked this question, "I ran my car into a ditch, no one was hurt, no one was with me, I walked home, can the cops come and get me without a warrant? There is no clear cut answer, it all depends on the facts of your Nashville DUI http://nashvilleduiinfo.com

Under a general principal of the Constitution of the United States warrants are needed for arrests. However, like all good rules there are quite a few exceptions, so here we go;

In a Nashville DUI case, there is an exception to the warrant requirement. If the police witnessed the breach of the peace or the act was committed in their presence, then no need for a warrant to arrest you;

A second exception is where medical treatment is required and the suspect is at the hospital, and the time is under four hours since the accident and the officer has PROBABLE CAUSE to believe an infraction of the law has occurred;

Third is when the police officer is at the scene of the accident and the suspect is at the scene, based on the police officers investigation he may arrest the suspect as long as he has PROBABLE CAUSE;

Fourth is when a felony has been committed and the police believe that they have PROBABLE CAUSE to arrest the suspect for it;

AND FIFTH, I say this because this is the one that most people ask about, so here it is.

IF THE OFFICER HAPPENS UPON THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT, (LETS JUST SAY YOU RAN YOUR CAR INTO A DITCH AND WALKED HOME). THE OFFICER WITHIN FOUR HOURS MAY APPREHEND YOU WHEREVER YOU ARE, IF HE HAS PROBABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE YOU HAVE COMMITTED A CRIME. THE KEY WORD IS PROBABLE CAUSE, WHAT EVIDENCE FROM THE SCENE OF A NASHVILLE DUI DOES HE HAVE THAT WILL RISE TO THE LEVEL OF PROBABLE CAUSE TO ARREST YOU WITHOUT A WARRANT, AWAY FROM THE SCENE, AND BRING YOU BACK TO THE SCENE.

Probable cause is the argument that more than likely will decide a case such as the example above. Like much of the law, it is an argument based on the facts of each case independently.