In a DUI case, you will find yourself at a crossroads early on when you determine whether to plead guilty or fight the charges. A Marietta DUI lawyer at Waid Law Firm, LLC can provide you with strategic advice throughout the legal process.
While many DUI cases result in a plea agreement between you and the prosecutor, there is no preordained result to your case at the outset, depending on the facts and circumstances, it may be possible (and in your best interests) to defend against the charges in court. Your Marietta DUI lawyer can conduct a complete investigation of your case and determine whether there are any possible defenses. Below are possible defenses that you can use in a DUI.
Waid Law Firm, LLC offers free initial consultations for DUI defendants. You can schedule one by calling us today at 470-458-9866, and you can learn whether there are any potential defenses to the charges against you.
Police Lacked a Legal Basis to Stop or Arrest You
The legal standard that a police officer must meet to make a DUI stop is reasonable suspicion. This is a standard that was articulated in Terry v. Ohio. The officer must have had a valid basis to stop you in the first place because they cannot randomly detain drivers. The stop must be based on objective and observable behavior, as opposed to an unarticulated hunch. Reasonable suspicion could be met if the officer observes the following conduct on the part of a driver:
- Swerving in their lane
- Traveling over or dramatically under the speed limit
- Other types of dangerous or aggressive behaviors
To make an actual arrest, the police officer must have probable cause that shows that a crime is or has been committed. If the traffic stop was not validly based on reasonable suspicion, or if probable cause did not exist, your arrest has no valid legal basis.
The Field Sobriety Test Was Improperly Performed
The officer may have administered a field sobriety test during the traffic stop. This is one of many sources of evidence that the prosecutor may use against you. If the officer did not follow proper procedures and protocols, the evidence against you may be suppressed. While it may not be enough to win your case on its own, succeeding here can weaken the prosecutor’s case and cast doubt on the allegations against you.
The Evidence Against You Is Flawed
Police may have drawn blood to test for alcohol content. There are strict standards that apply to this form of evidence. For example, police must use valid collection procedures, and the evidence must have a continuous chain of custody from the time that it was taken until the time of your trial. If the charges are based primarily on blood test evidence, you can challenge them if there are any issues with the evidence. However, police may have several forms of evidence against you, and they could resort to using the others if the blood test evidence is suppressed.
The Breathalyzer Machinery Was Not Working Properly
Many DUI arrests are based on the BAC reading on the breathalyzer test that was administered at the time that you were stopped by the police officer. There could have been issues with the specific breathalyzer unit and how the test was administered. The machine could have been improperly calibrated or not adequately maintained. The officer may not have followed proper procedure in administering the test. Here, your Marietta DUI attorney may work with a forensic toxicology expert to examine the specifics of the test and to show why it was flawed.
Your Constitutional Rights Were Otherwise Violated
Stopping you as a driver without reasonable suspicion is a violation of your constitutional rights. The stop may have been pretextual, or you could have been profiled by the police officer. The same thing goes when you have been arrested without probable cause.
Your constitutional rights may have been violated in other ways during the arrest or post arrest process, including the following:
- Your Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination may have been compromised through illegal interrogation (often when the officer fails to read your rights).
- Evidence that is being used against you was improperly seized in violation of your Fourth Amendment rights.
- You were denied your right to counsel during critical stages under the Sixth Amendment (Note that you do not have the right to consult an attorney during the traffic stop itself).
Contact a Marietta DUI Law Firm
Our Marietta DUI lawyer at Waid Law Firm, LLC serves clients in Fulton and Cobb counties. Addison Waid is an experienced litigator who can persuasively present your defenses in court. You can speak to us during a free initial consultation, which you can schedule by visiting our website or by calling us today at 470-458-9866.
