Beat a DUI: Lack of Evidence

DUI charges, like any other, are proved by evidence, and when there is a lack of admissible evidence, a defendant may beat a DUI charge. Sometimes arresting officers and prosecutors may get over confident and fail to provide the strongest evidence or present all their evidence in court, allowing a knowledgeable defendant or attorney to win their case. However, it is more often true that at some point in the traffic stop or arrest process, the arresting officer failed to follow procedure and their evidence becomes inadmissible. Even though there may have been evidence of the crime, the case is dismissed for lack of evidence.

Admissible Evidence

In order to prove a case of DUI, the arresting officer must have several elements of the traffic stop and arrest in order for any evidence they obtain at that stop to be admissible in court.

• Reasonable suspicion that a crime was being committed. That means the officer observed some suspicious or dangerous action that gave sufficient cause to stop the individual and explore the situation further

• Probable cause to show that, given the information available to the officer at the time, a reasonable and cautious person would believe that a crime had been committed

• Reading the suspect’s Miranda Warnings and providing the opportunity for them to have an attorney present and an independent chemical test

If those situations exist, the officer has the right to conduct field sobriety tests and to place their observations of any evidence of intoxication in the police report. They may also conduct a breathalyzer test and if the suspect is found to have an illegal blood alcohol content (BAC) level, there is additional evidence supporting a DUI arrest.

Inadmissible Evidence

On the other hand, if any one of those required elements is missing, the suspect may have grounds to have all evidence obtained after the arrest thrown out of court. Of course, proving their case may be difficult for several reasons:

• There was no reasonable suspicion of a crime to justify the traffic stop. A defendant must have proof of their own to defend against the arresting officer’s claims, including eyewitnesses, possibly an independent chemical test, and other outside testimony if possible

• There was no probable cause for the officer to arrest the defendant. Eyewitness testimony and outside BAC tests can help prove this point and have all evidence obtained after the arrest thrown out

• No Miranda Warning may make all evidence obtained as a result of questioning or testing inadmissible

Getting Legal Help with Defending against the Evidence in a DUI Case

Police procedure can be quite complex, and many people do not understand the regulations and protections that are in place. However, a DUI attorney can often explore a case thoroughly and help find a defense to have the charges dismissed and provide a DUI defendant with another chance.