If you have been arrested for or charged with the crime of driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, you already know that you are faced with a very serious set of criminal charges that can impact your life and your freedom to operate a motor vehicle for many years to come. If you believe that you were arrested in error, or that procedural errors were committed during the course of your investigation, you may be able to fight the DUI charges and defend against the criminal penalties that may result. There are a number of excellent ways to defend against DUI charges in court.
Defending DUI Charges
- One excellent defense against a DUI charge is to prove that you were improperly pulled over or stopped in the first place.
A traffic stop for a DUI charge requires probable cause, such as poor driving or other reasonable belief that the driver of the vehicle is under the influence. If you were stopped for speeding, a broken tail light, or other unrelated charges, and the police officer then forced you to submit to an alcohol test or other sobriety test, you may have reason to dispute the charges because there was no probable cause to believe that you were driving under the influence when the officer made the stop.
- Another defense against a DUI charge may arise because the person administering any test, such as a DUI test, must be properly certified to operate the testing equipment.
Ask to see a copy of the officer’s current certification. If the certification is out of date, or is not in complete compliance with the testing equipment manufacturer’s recommendations, or if the test was not administered according to the required steps listed by the manufacturer, you may be able to have the charges dismissed. You can also ask for a second test to be administered by an individual not associated with the police, in order to have that second opinion entered into evidence.
- A third good form of defense against a DUI charge is that you may be able to have a doctor or other individual who is certified to do so make the assertion that your body absorbs alcohol differently from average individuals.
By having this assertion made, you may be able to have the amount that you were over the legal limit adjusted downward to allow for a margin of error in the testing procedure, which may mean that you were not technically intoxicated when the stop was made.
Getting Help
DUI charges are serious criminal charges with serious consequences. You need to hire an experienced DUI lawyer if you are serious about defending the charges and walking away with your license, freedom and driving record in tact.
