A DUI charge does not necessarily mean a
DUI conviction. If you act quickly and appoint a criminal defense lawyer and
get started building a fool proof defense, then you may well stand a fantastic
chance of defending yourself against the claims of the prosecution and even
beating your DUI charge completely.
There are many DUI defense strategies
that criminal defense attorneys often employ to protect their clients from a
possible DUI conviction. What you need to understand in terms of a DUI arrest
is that there are a plethora of conditions that need to be met by the arresting
officer. To begin with, the arresting officer needs to have a reason to pull you
over.
Secondly, he should have some probable
cause for suspicion to be able to subject you to sobriety testing. Similarly,
there are many other things an officer has to abide by. Consequentially, there
are many ways in which a DUI
charge can be beaten.
Probable
Cause for Arrest
According to criminal defense lawyers,
the constitution in America prevents law enforcement from unreasonable
arresting us. Therefore, when an arrest is made, the arresting officer needs to
have a fantastic reason\cause for doing so. This is one of the things that
maybe challenged in a DUI trial by the defendant in order to beat his\her DUI
charge.
Things like gut feeling or a hunch is
not considered probable cause. There needs to be some evidence. Some of the
things that qualify as probable cause are – if an officer see’s an open
container of alcohol inside the car, if the officer smells alcohol on the
person, if the suspect’s eyes are blurry and his speech is slurred, etc.
If you feel that the officer arrested
you without any solid evidence, you may have a strong case and every reason to
consult a criminal defense lawyer without any more time spent.
Probable
Cause for Pulling You Over
Not only does the officer require
probable cause to arrest you but also requires probable cause just to be able to
pull you over, thanks to the constitution. Unless you drive through a DUI
checkpoint, law enforcement officers can only pull you over if you violated a
traffic law (speeding, jumping a red light, not maintaining the lane) or if
your car plates come back as stolen/expired.
Yet again, if you feel you were pulled
over for no apparent reason, then you can have your case dismissed by arguing
this point.
Recent scientific studies have shown
that breathalyzer machines are not accurate. Not only are they not accurate but
actually depict breath alcohol content and not blood alcohol content.
Furthermore, these machines require careful and diligent calibration before
being used.
Considering all of this, breathalyzer
machine results or evidence derived from a breathalyzer may be questioned and
easily disproved with the help of a criminal defense lawyer. Likewise blood and
urine results may be skillfully challenged as well.
Do not assume anything. You are not a
lawyer. What you think they can do and cannot do is not going to be an accurate
assessment. When you seek legal help and explain to them what happened they will
determine how to attack this case. They will take the information that you have
accumulated to bolster your case and order up some materials and documents as
well while formulating a plan. This legal representative may not be your BFF
but could be the most important person in your life right about now. Let them
do their work and stay out of trouble meanwhile!
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