How You May Contest DUI Charges in Court
The laws of your state and potential aggravating conditions determine the possible punishment for drunk driving. A DUI conviction can get you jailed for a maximum of 6 months, fined up to $2000, or a suspended driving license. But if you find the best DUI attorneys, they’ll tell you that how you defend against these charges also has a huge influence on the court outcome, including the possibility of acquittal.
Try the ideas below to contest any DUI charges:
1. Unlawful Stop
DUI lawyers and attorneys like to use the improper stop argument in defending their clients in court. The claim suggests that, at the time of the pull over, the officer lacked the prerequisite probable reason.
Handling and Reliability of the Field Intoxication Test
If they took you in based on incorrect intoxication test outcomes or a wrongly executed exam, the arrest may be ruled inappropriate. It’s common for DUI attorneys to contest the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) exam, which detects eye movements usually linked to intoxication.
3. Handling and Correctness of Portable Breathalyzer Screening
Likewise, your attorney may challenge the integrity of the on-site breathalyzer test. It’s important to ask if the test was administered appropriately, for example by a skilled officer. Is there a chance that certain dominant conditions, such as vomiting or indigestion, existed and thereby undermining reliability of the test results? It’s also possible to dilute any evidence against you by showing that the breath test device was poorly calibrated and serviced.
4. It Was Necessary to Drive Drunk
You may invoke the necessity defense if you needed to drive while drunk to prevent a bigger problem. That’s a good line of defense, although you have to show that you could not have done it any other way as the driver and that you wanted to side-step a calamity with more serious consequences than a DUI.
5. DUI Under Duress
Another viable argument is that your DUI followed the threat of bodily harm or death, implying that duress forced your actions. A typical situation would be if someone threatened to harm you if you didn’t drive drunk.
6. Unintentional Intoxication
In the event you ingested alcohol without knowing, you may defend yourself through the involuntary intoxication argument. For instance, if you think you took a drink with an undetectable quantity of liquor before your DUI arrest, you may counter that it never was your will to get drunk. This is also possible if an individual “spikes” your beverage with liquor while you’re unaware.
A guilty verdict for a DUI offense can inconvenience you, no matter the severity of the sentence. Just find some great DUI lawyers and attorneys for assistance challenging any such trial.
