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Defenses to DUI Cases
A.) Primary Defenses
The primary defenses to a DUI charge are:
1.) Your blood alcohol level was rising
at the time you were stopped by the officer and thus even though the
test results indicate you were above the legal limit when you were
tested, you were actually below .08% at the time of driving.
2.) Even though the officer has described
your driving pattern and field sobriety tests so that it appears as
though you may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs,
any impairment you may have exhibited was not caused by alcohol
but rather by other factors such as physical injuries,
explanations for your driving pattern, and the officer’s failure to
administer the tests properly.
3.) In cases where your test result is close to the legal limit,
variance associated with the accuracy of the breath or blood testing
instrument when subtracted from your test result may allow you
to argue that you were below the legal limit.
In order to convict a person of drunk driving the prosecution must
prove that the person either drove at a time when their blood
alcohol level was .08% or higher, or, were impaired by alcohol, i.e.,
under the influence, at the time of driving. Therefore, the primary
defenses to a drunk driving charge are that you
were not .08% or impaired by alcohol at the time of driving. Despite
the fact that your test result may have been .08% or higher, this
does not necessarily mean that you were .08% or higher at the time
of driving.
The law is concerned with whether
your blood alcohol level was .08% or higher at the time of driving.
A chemical test taken after you were arrested is only circumstantial
evidence that must be related back to the time of driving. Depending
upon when you finished drinking, when you ate, what you ate, your
own unique physiology, etc., your blood alcohol level could have
been below the legal limit at the time of driving and later rose to
being above the legal limit by the time you were tested. In
such cases, it can be argued that you were not in violation of
Vehicle Code section 23152(b), i.e., driving while having a blood
alcohol level of .08% or higher. The accuracy of the breath or
blood test may also support a defense to a drunk driving charge.
For a discussion on challenging the accuracy of the chemical test,
please click on the “Challenging the Chemical Test” box on the left
hand side of this page.
If there are explanations for your driving pattern and field
sobriety test performance other than being impaired by alcohol, such
evidence can constitute a defense to a charge of violating Vehicle
Code section 23152(b), i.e., driving while under the
influence/impaired. For instance, if you performed poorly on
the field sobriety tests because of some preexisting back/leg injury
or because of unfair conditions in which you had to perform the
tests, it can be argued that your performance on these tests does
not demonstrate impairment caused by alcohol.
B.) Secondary Defenses & Motions
In addition to defenses
to the merits of a drunk driving charge, there are other ways to
defend such cases including the following:
1.) Establishing that the stop or arrest was illegal. In order to
stop a vehicle, an officer needs reasonable suspicion to believe you
have violated the law and probable cause to arrest you. If the
officer stopped you absent a reasonable suspicion that you were
violating the law or arrested you without probable cause to believe
you were violating the law, you may be able to suppress all evidence
which resulted from the illegal stop or arrest. Absent this
evidence, your case would likely be dismissed.
2.) Establishing that favorable evidence was lost or destroyed by
the state in bad faith thereby violating your right to due process.
3.) Establishing that you were prejudiced by the state’s failure to
prosecute your case in a timely manner.
4.) Obtaining statements from you in violation of your Miranda
rights.
5.) Corpus delicti basis by which to suppress admissions or
confessions.
These are just some of the potential
defenses and motions that could be raised in a DUI case. There
are other potential defenses and motions not listed. In order to
determine whether any of these defenses or motions may be applicable
to your case, please consult with the Law Offices.
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