If you’ve been charged with a DUI, then you’ll need a solid defense to beat it. To do this, our team here at GPS Law Group recommends that you become familiar with a few of the most common DUI defenses given in court. Our team will help you build your case and mount the best possible defense for your situation, but we want you to know that this is not the time to get creative, but instead to stick with legal strategies with a proven record of getting results. In this article, we’ll go over three of the most common forms of DUI defense so that you can get a better idea of what strategies are likely to work.
- Improper Field Sobriety Test Protocol- When administering a field sobriety test (FST), the police are legally required to follow certain protocols. If the police officer who charged you failed to comply with these protocols in any way, you have the basis for a significant DUI defense. In addition, the results of an FST are not by themselves evidence of intoxication—for example, the importance of a heel-toe test in court can be diminished if your test was conducted in unfavorable weather conditions.
- Improper Stop- In order to stop a vehicle for traffic violations, the police must be able to see the driver actually doing something wrong and not simply act on a gut feeling. If you were obeying all traffic laws, observing the speed limit, not swerving, and had no mechanical malfunctions in your vehicle, you may be able to make the DUI defense claim that the police did not have reasonable suspicion to pull you over. We at GPS Law Group do want to remind you, though, that you should always discuss your legal strategies with your lawyer before making any claims in court.
- Improper Communication with the Defendant- If you are arrested for any reason, you have the right to speak to an attorney before answering any questions from the police. Police officers and prosecutors know this, but this doesn’t stop many of them from trying to entice you into a confession with the promise of an attractive plea bargain. If this happens, any pleas entered outside the bounds of protocol can be overturned by showing that the officers or attorneys did not follow proper communication procedures.
We at GPS Law Group hope that this article helps give you hope concerning your case. If you are in need of legal help to mount a DUI defense, we encourage you to reach out to our team.