Your DUI Case May Be Easier To Win Than You Think
Posted on: 16 March 2015
People often think of DUI cases and open and shut cases simply because of the evidence which is collected through field sobriety and blood alcohol tests. However, the truth is, defending yourself against charge of driving under the influence may be much easier than you think. This is because a qualified criminal defense attorney may be able to have all or some of the evidence against you thrown out if both the arresting officer and prosecution have not followed all of the proper procedures for the collection of this evidence.
Below you will learn more about a few of the ways in which your attorney may be able to discredit the evidence against you and ultimately have the charges against you dropped.
Inaccurate Field Sobriety Tests
There are many reasons why a person may perform badly on a field sobriety test and intoxication is only one of them. For instance, poor balance, coordination, anxiety, weather conditions, and traffic volume can all have an impact on a person's performance during a field sobriety test. Consequently, these tests should not be exclusively relied on when determining whether or not there is sufficient evidence to make a DUI arrest.
Unfortunately, this happens every day all over the country. If this is what happened in your case, your attorney may be able to have the results of the field test suppressed by demonstrating that there was another reason for your poor performance.
False Positive On Breathalyzer
The breathalyzer is another common way that law enforcement seeks to prove that you were in fact intoxicated at the time you were driving. However, just like the field sobriety test, there are multiple factors that could result in a false positive.
In order to understand how the breathalyzer test can be compromised, you must first understand how this test is designed to work. When you blow into the tube on a breathalyzer machine, the machine is supposed to measure the volume of alcohol in the deepest part of your lungs. It is theorized that this deep lung alcohol level is directly related to the amount of alcohol that is present in your blood stream. The problem is, the alcohol that is being tested is not always produced from the deep lung air as intended.
If you belch, vomit, or experience acid reflux after drinking, a portion of the alcohol in your stomach will coat the inside of your mouth. When taking a breathalyzer test, this mouth alcohol can result in much higher readings than is reflective of your actual blood alcohol content. Using this fact, your attorney may be able to demonstrate that the results of your breathalyzer test are inaccurate. This defense is especially effective in cases where the defendant suffers from chronic acid reflux problems.
A Final Thought
Challenging the field sobriety and breathalyzer results in your case are just a few of the ways that a qualified attorney may be able to have the charges against you dropped. This is why it is so important to always seek reliable legal advice when being charged with a DUI, even if you initially believe that there is no way you can win you case due to the seemingly large amount of evidence against you. (For more information, contact Eric Schurman, Attorney at Law)
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