Will my DUI arrest hold if I was pulled over without probable cause?

Probable cause is an essential part of any arrest, including one for DUI, but there are many effective ways of presenting a DUI defense challenging probable cause when appropriate. Probable cause means that, given the evidence available to the arresting officer at the time of the stop, a reasonable and cautious person would believe that a crime had been committed. Several areas of evidence may provide probable cause for arrest:

• Erratic or illegal driving before the stop

• Evidence of intoxication in the person once the officer observes the suspect

• Evidence of intoxication from field sobriety tests, or the refusal to take a field sobriety test

• Obvious evidence of alcohol or drug paraphernalia in the vehicle, providing probable cause for a search

If any of those types of evidence exists, the officer generally has probable cause to make a DUI arrest; however, if none of that evidence exists, the arrest is probably unjustified.

In addition, once the case goes to court, the arresting officer must have sufficient tangible evidence to prove their case to a judge. Assumptions are not enough. However, it can be difficult for the testimony of a defendant to outweigh that of an arresting officer in the eyes of the court. It may take the expertise of a DUI attorney to convince the court that there was no probable cause for the arrest, and have all the subsequent evidence thrown out.