They say it is better to learn from the mistakes of others. But actually everyone learns from their own mistakes. It is commonly known fact, that it is prohibited to drive when you are drunk. Although a lot of people ignore the potential danger and drive after having consumed alcohol or other drugs.
If you are charged with drunk driving and you don’t agree with the accusation, there are still some ways out. Let’s talk about your possible defenses in this case. The most common drunk driving defenses are:
- Improper stop – this is the mostly used argument, that claims that the officer had no reason to stop the traffic.
- accuracy of Breathalyzer test – your attorney may question the validity of test results, claiming that the equipment is not accurate or the officer doesn’t have enough qualification in doing this test.
- accuracy of Field Sobriety Test – this defense questions the propriety of Field Sobriety Test and whether the results of it are accurate.
- insufficient evidence for arrest – sometimes the officers can arrest the driver based on their own observations if physical signs such as bloodshot eyes, that could be a sign of impairment. Your lawyer can question that, by claiming that those are “personal opinions”, they are subjective, and have nothing to do with DUI. Physical signs can have another ground, for example allergies.
- not driving at the time – if you were not driving but just sitting in your parked car, it can’t be a reason for arrest, although some states allow an officer to arrest for drunk driving even without the act of driving intoxicated.
- rising BAC – it is well known that alcohol need time to “rise” in your blood, because it is gradually “absorbed” into your blood. If there was a long delay between the stop and actual testing, you can claim that your BAC wasn’t over the limit by the time of stop.
- blood test – sometimes drivers claim that the results of blood test were tampered
- improper officer’s actions – you may have evidence or testimony of officer’s improper actions that violated your civil rights and falsification of DUI report.
In very rare circumstances there can be affirmative defenses, even when the evidence shows the opposite. Take a look at them, maybe one of these matches your situation.
- necessity – in this case the driver had no other option because of the wish to avoid something more serious than the potential harm caused by DUI, for example you were trying to save your life.
- mistake of fact – you honestly believe that you are not drunk
- entrapment – the officer wanted to set you up and requested to drive drunk
- duress – this happens when a person is forced to drive by threat, sometimes deadly weapons may be used
- involuntary intoxication – you can claim that you ingested alcohol without knowing it, or you didn’t know the drink you had contained alcohol.
Dealing with this can be difficult, that’s why you should be interested in hiring a qualified lawyer. By choosing one of our attorneys you can be sure that you have top-quality lawyer on your side.
