Justia Lawyer Rating
badge - California DUI Lawyers Association
badge - California Public Defenders Association
badge - Sacramento County Bar Association
badge - The State Bar of California
badge - United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

How the Community Caretaker Doctrine May Apply to Your DUI Case

Police officerIf you were detained by a police officer on suspicion of drunk driving, you may insist that the police had no basis on which to believe that you were intoxicated and had no legal basis to pull you over. That may be true, but there is a doctrine that allows the police to detain citizens who appear to be in peril in certain circumstances and does not require the police to have reasonable suspicion of a crime. A Indian DUI lawyer in Sacramento can tell you if this exception applies to your case.

The “community caretaker” doctrine in essence means, “We’re from the government and we’re here to help.” Under this doctrine, a detention may be legal, even without a warrant and even if the police have no reasonable suspicion that a crime has transpired or is about to transpire. The test to determine if a police officer is acting under this doctrine is as follows:

First, an officer has a right to stop and investigate if there are objective and specific facts leading the officer to suspect that a citizen is in need of help. Second, if the citizen does need help, the officer may take appropriate action to do so. Third, once the officer is assured that the peril has been mitigated, any actions beyond that constitute a seizure subject to Fourth Amendment scrutiny.

If you have any questions about your detention by a police officer, contact experienced Indian DUI lawyer in Sacramento Param Pabla for a consultation.

Client Reviews
★★★★★
“Mr. Pabla represented me with my DUI case. He has excellent communication skills and always kept me informed. Mr. Pabla made sure I understood the process and my rights. He eased my mind through a very stressful situation. I highly recommend Mr. Pabla.” Gurpreet
★★★★★
“I am so happy with the service that I received from Param S. Pabla. Jarrett did a great job solving my legal issue and I can’t recommend him enough! He was able to do everything quickly, painlessly, and was ALWAYS available to talk when I needed him. If I ever need help again, I will definitely use him!" Boris
★★★★★
“Param was excellent in my court case of failure to stop at a stop sign. The officer could not see clearly because he was too far away. The officer insisted he could and said he had video but could not produce it at the trial. The officer then asked if he could suspend the trial to go get the video but the judge said he should have had plenty of time to get the video ready beforehand. Needless to say, the judge ruled in my favor and dismissed the case which enraged the officer. Pabla Param’s defense and cross examination skills were excellent and paramount in having the case dismissed. Highly recommended.” T.C.
★★★★★
“My husband and I needed to update everything -family trust, will, medical stuff. Param was really patient -answering all my questions -even when I asked them twice. He wanted to be sure I understood everything we were doing. All docs were sent to us so we could go through them on our own time before anything was finalized. I also liked when we were looking at medical stuff that he had a conversation with me about what I wanted and pointed out some things I didn’t think of.” Debbie