6 Arguments in Defense Against DUI Charges
The laws of your state and potential aggravating conditions determine the possible punishment for drunk driving. You could go to prison for 6 months, temporarily lose your driving license, or be fined $2000 if found guilty of DUI/DWI. 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.
Explore the arguments below to challenge your DUI trial:
1. Inappropriate Stop
The inappropriate stop claim is a tactic that most DUI lawyers and attorneys deploy to defend the accused. As per this argument, the arresting officer is accused of ordering a traffic stop without any probable cause.
2. Management and Accuracy of the On-Site Sobriety Test
If they took you in based on incorrect intoxication test outcomes or a wrongly executed exam, the arrest may be ruled inappropriate. DUI lawyers frequently dispute the horizontal gaze nystagmus test (HGN) that attempts to determine intoxication by sensing certain eye movements.
3. Handling and Correctness of Portable Breathalyzer Screening
Likewise, your attorney may challenge the integrity of the on-site breathalyzer test. They’ll question whether the device was used properly, such as by a trained officer. Were there any intervening circumstances, for example vomiting or indigestion (which may have affected accuracy of the test results)? Also, demonstrating that the device used to give the breath test lacked proper calibration and maintenance may weaken the case against you.
4. It Was Necessary to Drive Drunk
The necessity claim can work in case you had to drive under influence to forestall a greater evil. 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. An example of duress DUI is an attacker employing force to get the victim to drive.
6. Inadvertent Intoxication
In the event you ingested alcohol without knowing, you may defend yourself through the involuntary intoxication argument. Perhaps you believe that you were offered a drink that contained unnoticeable alcohol content, which you drunk just before getting booked for DUI, making it a reasonable case of inadvertent intoxication. Another potential scenario is when somebody laces your drink with alcohol without you knowing.
Always strive to avoid a drunk-driving conviction, even when the likely penalty appears to be light. With the help of DUI lawyers and attorneys, you can contest any such charges.