If an officer arrests you for a DUI or a DWI, the punishments you face are serious. In addition to potentially waiting to sober up in a holding cell overnight (or being held until your hearing date if something more serious happened in addition to driving under the influence), a conviction will lead to permanent negative repercussions. If this is your first time to be charged with something like this, you may be scared and unsure of what to do. If you have been charged with a DUI in the past or charged with another crime in the past, you may think you have no other options and that you should accept these charges. However, DUI attorneys, want you to know that whether this is your first charge or your third, you should never go down without a fight.
Types of DUI Defenses
- Your Driving. One of the defenses we could use when it comes to your DUI case is the actual driving since the arresting officer will need to prove a few things. The first thing is that you were the one who was operating the vehicle at the time they pulled you over. If there was any kind of mixup, someone else was in the car, and you were not driving the vehicle, then a large mistake has been made. In addition, the police officer will need to prove that you were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time you were driving and pulled over.
- Blood Alcohol Content. While many states have different rules when it comes to driving, one thing they all have in common is what makes you guilty: having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 or higher. To convict, they must show your BAC through tools like blood or urine samples, saliva tests, or a breathalyzer test. In addition to challenging the actual tools used for these tests, we can also challenge how they were administered.
- The Pullover and Arrest. When it comes to why the officer pulled you over in the first place, they will need to provide proof as to why they were justified in pulling you over. If they have no good evidence as to why they pulled you over, it is possible to get any evidence they gathered while they had you pulled over entirely thrown out. Additionally, a failure to read you the Miranda Warning could lead to some evidence being thrown out since the officer would have failed to do his or her duty.
These are all possible defenses if a police officer arrests you and charges you with a DUI. While not exhaustive, it is important that you know you do not have to accept the charges as if they were a conviction.