Have you been arrested for DUI or has someone close to you been arrested for a DUI offense?
First of all, we need to talk about your feelings for a second.
If you’ve been arrested for DUI, you’re probably embarrassed or embarrassed, maybe a little angry, but most of all, you want to know what to do, what can be done, what you’re up against, and if you have a chance. to fight a DUI case. It is my hope to bust some myths about DUI defense and also let you know what can and cannot be done with a DUI case.
Can you fight a DUI?
DUI defenses are generally classified into categories of types of defenses. The best results are achieved when you leave no stone unturned in finding defenses for a DUI case. It’s generally not a good idea to “pick a” defense and aggressively go for that one defense. The best tactic for defending DUI cases is when you carefully review all the evidence, line by line, and strategize.
- Forcing the district attorney to prove that you were driving. Intoxication is not enough: the prosecution must also prove that you were driving. This can be difficult if, as in the case of some accidents, the police arrive after the scene and there are no witnesses to the actual driving.
- Force the district attorney to prove probable cause. Evidence can and will be suppressed if the officer did not have legal cause to (a) detain, (b) detain, and (c) arrest. DUI checkpoints and sobriety checkpoints in particular present many defenses to a DUI, but oftentimes the police pull someone over for a non-driving offense and then use it as a pretext to fill in the blanks for cause. probable. The case law could not be clearer in many cases: this is not allowed and it is not correct.
- Do not give warnings to Miranda. Incriminating statements may be suppressed if warnings were not given in a timely manner.
- Implied Consent Warning Defenses. If the officer did not inform you of the consequences of refusing to take a chemical test, or if he did it incorrectly, this may invalidate the DMV license suspension for refusing to provide a breath/blood sample.
- Forcing the prosecutor to prove that you were under the influence. Officers’ observations and opinions regarding intoxication may be challenged…the circumstances under which the field sobriety tests were given, for example, or the subjective (and biased) nature of what the officer believes to be intoxicated. what fails Witnesses, including waiters or waitresses, may also testify that you appeared to be sober.
- Breath alcohol test defenses. There is a wide range of potential problems with breath tests. Most breath machines will record many chemical compounds found in human breath as alcohol. The temperature and even the blowing pattern can cause the respiration reading to fluctuate considerably from normal. And breath machines assume a ratio of 2,100 to 1 to convert breath alcohol to blood alcohol; in fact, this relationship varies greatly from person to person (and within a person from time to time). Radio frequency interference can result in inaccurate readings. These and other flaws in the analysis can be discovered by obtaining maintenance and calibration records for the machine, or on cross-examination by the state expert and/or the defense can hire their own forensic chemist.
- Defenses of the blood alcohol test. There are a wide range of problems with blood tests, including California’s requirement that no alcohol swabs be used, that the person drawing the blood be a licensed phlebotomist (not just a police officer), that the vial of blood has a certain percentage of preservatives and anticoagulants, that the blood is available for retesting, that the blood is not exposed to bacteria (airborne or otherwise), that the blood testing machine is maintained and calibrated , that the blood is homogenized, that the vial follows a chain of custody, and that the blood is drawn within three hours after driving.
- Medical issues: Being diabetic, on Atkins-related diets, a person with acid reflux, eye, knee, neurological, or other physical defects, or on medication can often create a false-positive conclusion that someone was under the influence.
- Test during the absorption phase. The blood, breath, or urine test will not be reliable if done while you are still actively absorbing alcohol (it takes 30 minutes to three hours for complete absorption; this can be delayed if food is present in the stomach). Therefore, drinking “one for the road” can cause highly inaccurate test results.
- backward extrapolation. This refers to the requirement that the BAC be “linked” in time from test to drive. A number of complex physiological assumptions are made with backward extrapolation, and it generally involves bad science.
- Regulation of alcohol tests. The prosecution must prove that the blood, breath, or urine test met state requirements for calibration, maintenance, etc. and often a machine is found to have mechanical problems, or the test was not working, which makes the test excludable and sometimes the test is dismissed. full case.
- License suspension hearings. A number of issues can be raised in the context of an administrative hearing before the state department of motor vehicles, including officer error.
The thing is, most of your friends don’t even know everything about the scientific stuff involved. They usually just urge you to plead guilty. Even most attorneys are unaware of the complex issues and defenses involved in a DUI case.
However, a qualified DUI attorney can review the case for flaws, suppress evidence, compel discovery of such things as calibration and maintenance records for the breath machine, independently test blood samples, negotiate a lesser charge, or a reduced sentence, obtain expert witnesses for trial, contest an administrative license suspension, and handle a DUI trial with the best chance of success.
A good DUI attorney can also help you handle the Department of Motor Vehicles hearing, which you must request within 10 days of your arrest, save your license, and can minimize the impact of a DUI on you. In almost every case, we can appear in court for you, without you having to take time off and experience the embarrassment of the court process. We can ask the court to minimize fees and other penalties in your case, even if your case is not dismissed or is reduced.
A DUI can stay on your driving record for life and also leaves behind a criminal record (depending on how it was filed, a DUI is either a misdemeanor or a felony). It can expose you to jail time, hefty fines with the court, expensive and inconvenient alcohol schools, and a huge insurance increase that lasts for years, so in almost all cases it’s worth fighting the charges to avoid a possible death. conviction (which stays on your record for life in California), and so you never have to wonder *what if* years later.
