A DUI charge can have serious penalties with life-changing results. Not only can it lead to costly fines and jail time, but it may even affect your personal relationships and future job opportunities. At the time of your charge, you may feel as if there’s nothing you can do. However, you have options.
How can I fight a DUI?
Fighting a DUI charge is a possibility if you have a good defense. Below are just four common defenses that attorneys often use in court.
- Improper stop — This is one of the most common defenses that attorneys build against a DUI charge. A police officer must have probable cause to stop you. This means they must observe a reason to believe you may have been driving while intoxicated. Probable cause for a stop includes traffic violations or reckless driving. An officer must also have probable cause to arrest you.
- Inaccurate breath test — Recently, breath tests have come under fire for producing unreliable or inaccurate results. With a faulty breath test, your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) may have registered as higher than it actually was. There are a number of factors that can trigger a false positive, including operator error. Don’t let an officer’s inattentiveness lead to your conviction.
- Contaminated blood results — Blood tests are usually more reliable than breath tests, but that doesn’t mean that someone can’t contaminate the results. Human error or even sometimes intentional tampering can lead to false blood results that show a higher BAC.
- Failure to recite Miranda rights — During an arrest and prior to interrogation, an officer must inform you of your Miranda rights. While not reciting Miranda rights is rare, it can happen. If police take you into custody without notifying you of your rights, any incriminating statement you give likely cannot be used against you.
After a DUI charge, it’s normal to feel confused and hopeless. But don’t give up — you still have options. If you choose to fight your DUI charges, an experienced attorney can help you build a defense that may help minimize the impact that a DUI can have on your life.