Commonly Used Defenses that Work in DUI Cases

When someone is facing a DUI charge, they should get help from a criminal defense attorney to defend their case. The attorney will be well versed with the different defenses that can be used before trial as well as during trial. Pretrial defenses can be brought up to the judge in a hearing well in advance of the trial, whereas trial defenses are brought up to a Jury at trial. An experienced attorney will usually use pretrial defenses in order to get the charges dismissed or reduced, instead of going through trial. Read on to understand some of the different defenses commonly used in DUI cases.

The officer pulled you over for no reason! – When police pull someone over on suspicion of DUI, they need to have a valid reason to pull them over. If you can prove that there was no valid reason, such as blood shot and watery eyes, slurred speech, or the odor of alcohol coming from you, then chances are that the case will be dropped.

You took the roadside tests even when you didn’t want to – In most states, submitting to field sobriety tests is not necessary. Drivers must be aware of the DUI rules of their state so they know if it is compulsory for them to take the roadside tests if stopped and asked by the officer. A person may feel intimidated and may have no choice but to submit to the roadside tests when stopped and investigated by an officer, even when they know that they don’t have to take the tests. If that was the case, your attorney may use it as defense in court.

The officer made you wait a long time before starting investigation – Officers cannot hold someone for an extended period of time when on the roadside. If the officer took longer than an hour to start the DUI investigation, you can use it as a possible defense in court. Unreasonable delays are a violation of the constitutional rights of the driver, and any evidence gathered after a significant delay can be tossed out by the judge.

The officer arrested you without probable cause – If there was no probable cause for the arrest, such as an odor of alcohol, blood shot and watery eyes or empty beer cans, then that can be used as a possible defense in your case.

The officer pursued you and came to arrest you after several hours of driving – An officer cannot visit your home at a later time and come and arrest you. If the officer had reason to believe that you were driving drunk, they must stop you on the road. Officers cannot note down your driver’s license plate number and come to your home to arrest you after several hours of driving. If the officer entered your house illegally and without a warrant to arrest you, that can be used as possible defense.

A DUI defense attorney can use these and many other possible defenses to defend your case. Therefore, it is advised to contact a DUI defense attorney right away if you are facing drunken driving charges.