The app is called "DueyDialer," and it allows anyone stopped by law enforcement for a DUI/DWI to have an easier time connecting with an attorney following an arrest.
Technology Driven Solutions, Inc., the Missouri based developers of DueyDialer, said the app doesn't encourage drinking and driving but provides a service at the exact moment it is needed.
The company says the app allows anyone pulled over or stopped at a DUI checkpoint to press one button and the conversation is recorded and automatically sent to a lawyer. The audio recording and the exact location of the traffic stop is sent via text and email to a database of nearby attorneys.
FoxCT spoke with a DUI attorney, who said the app would provide a quicker turnaround for someone arrested to get legal representation.
"Most of the situations happen in the middle of the night. It is virtually impossible for a defendant to get the needed legal advice," said Martin Minella, a Waterbury based criminal defense and DUI attorney.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut chapter says the app and others like it create more chances for people to record interactions with police.
In June, Gov. Dannel Malloy signed a law requiring all police officers in the state to wear body cams. A separate provision in the law also provides protection for people recording interactions between citizens and police.
"The more transparency we can have around police, citizens, and you and I, the average citizen, then we think the better," said ACLU of Connecticut legal director Dan Barrett.
The Connecticut State Police said they are perfectly open to anyone using the app to record police interactions.
"Recordings help both us and the person being stopped tremendously," said Connecticut State Police spokesperson Trooper Kelly Grant.
Grant says the app doesn't impact the way police would conduct a DUI investigation.
"They're still going to ask the same questions," said Grant. "They're still going to conduct the field sobriety test."
The app is free to download for Droid users. It is a paid service by attorneys. I-phone users can expect to have it within a couple of months.
The app is launching in the state at a time when the consequences for DUI arrests in the state are greater than ever.
Effective on July 1, a new state law made it mandatory for first-time DUI offenders to have their licenses suspended and an interlock ignition device installed on their vehicle.
