Potential DUI Defenses
The American judicial process is designed to protect your rights. An attorney may use many of the defenses below at your trial.
- Breath testing for blood-alcohol content (BAC) is fairly accurate if the test is administered properly , but the machine is still estimating the BAC. If your BAC was very close to the legal limit, there is a chance that a slight inaccuracy would show you as illegally intoxicated when in fact you were only close.
Close contact over a period of time with paints, paint removers, and gasoline have been shown to create false high BAC readings.
Correct calibration of hand-held breath testing devices is critical in order to produce accurate readings.
- Implied consent laws are objected to by most criminal defense attorneys on the basis that every person needs an automobile to lead a productive, normal life. The thinking behind implied consent laws is that driving is a privilege, not a right, and that law enforcement officials have the responsibility to determine if you are a danger to the public.
- Declining to take field sobriety or chemical tests is your right, but there are legal consequences to your refusal. However, i f you know you are under the illegal influence of alcohol or drugs, your defense attorney would prefer that you politely decline to take any tests. They would rather defend your refusal to submit to tests than try to overturn evidence that you were intoxicated!
- Non-Standardized Field Sobriety Test results are unlikely to be admissible in court. These tests include being asked to:
- count the number of fingers that the officer raises
- recite the alphabet or a portion of it
- count backwards
- stand, feet together, and lean the head back while holding the arms out to the side
- close the eyes and bring finger-to-nose.
- The Miranda Warning protects an individual by explaining their rights clearly. Many people believe that if they are not read the Miranda Warning that their charges are dismissed in court, but this is not necessarily true. The Miranda Warning protects your rights as far as police interrogation or questioning against your will.