What Is The Best DUI Defense Strategy?

A DUI charge is extremely serious and can have a profoundly negative effect on all areas of your life. You can have your driver's license revoked, you can end up paying huge fines, and you can end up in jail. It goes without saying that you want to avoid a DUI charge as much as possible. But if you do end up charged with a DUI, then you will want to mount the best defense strategy possible so that any of the associated penalties will be minimized or eliminated. 

The best way of doing that is by hiring an experienced DUI lawyer and following their lead. They will give you the best possible chance of escaping the worst ramifications of a DUI charge. If you live in Tennessee and have been charged with a DUI, then you will want to visit this website to get the help you need.

Problems With The Breathalyzer

If the officer who conducted the DUI stop used a breathalyzer to determine your sobriety, then your lawyer can use that to mount a defense. They could argue that breathalyzers are not always accurate because the ambient temperature can produce aberrant results if they are not properly calibrated. Additionally, there are extenuating factors that can cause a person to get a high BAC (blood alcohol content reading) even if they are not drunk. A solid DUI lawyer can dispute the results of the breathalyzer and cast doubts on its accuracy. 

The Field Sobriety Test Was Not Done Properly

The field sobriety test is another method by which a police officer determines whether a driver is impaired or not. The test has very strict guidelines and the failure to follow any of those guidelines can result in the results of the test being suppressed. Also, any improper conduct by the officer, such as aggressive or intimidating behavior, during the test could also cause suppression of the results. Those results can also be disputed if the test took place in a poorly lit area or on an uneven surface or in poor weather. All of those factors can cast doubt on the impairment of the driver.

The Stop Was Improper In The First Place

A police officer must have a legitimate reason to pull over a driver. That means the officer must have witnessed the driver speeding, swerving back and forth, or otherwise driving erratically. If the driver did not perform any of those actions but was stopped nonetheless, then any evidence gathered from the stop can be rendered inadmissible. That is because the constitution prohibits police officers from pulling over private citizens without reasonable suspicion. So, if you were not speeding or driving erratically, the officer did not have any right to stop you and administer a sobriety test.

BAC Blood Tests Were Stored Improperly

Blood tests are considered to be one of the most accurate ways of determining a person's BAC. However, those tests could become contaminated and inaccurate based on how they are stored. If the samples were not stored properly, then they could ferment; fermentation results in the creation of alcohol, which can lead to a false-positive result. Should there be any doubt about the integrity of the BAC blood tests, an attorney can have that evidence thrown out.

A Medical Condition Made The Driver Seem Inebriated

There are some medical or health conditions that can mimic the symptoms of drunkenness. Slurred speech could be explained by tiredness or certain neurological problems. Watery, bloodshot eyes could be because the driver is suffering from a cold or they are having an allergic reaction to something. If the officer smells alcohol on the breath, then that could be caused by a diabetic condition called ketosis. If the attorney can create any doubt as to why a driver appeared to be drunk, then that is a solid defense strategy against a DUI charge. 

Make Sure To Fight a DUI Charge As Hard As You Can

As you can see, many of the DUI defense strategies involve creating doubt as to whether the driver was really drunk or not. That is because proving that someone is inebriated is actually very difficult. That is why a good lawyer can find out if there were any improprieties with any of your sobriety tests and use them to create reasonable doubt as to whether or not you were impaired when the officer stopped you. That means the first step of fighting a DUI charge is to hire an experienced DUI lawyer. They will put all of their efforts into mounting the best possible DUI defense strategy. 

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