There’s so many ways that a false drunk driving charge can happen. In fact, criminal law judges are fully aware that police can make mistakes when arresting and accusing a driver of being intoxicated behind the wheel. For this reason, every driver accused of DUI will have the opportunity to defend him or herself against the allegations.
The defense strategy that the driver and his or her lawyer chooses will depend upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the arrest. However, here are three common ways that a driver might be able to improve his or her situation in court. Each of them points the inaccuracy of blood alcohol tests:
Accuracy of the Breathalyzer test
Breathalyzer devices need to be calibrated and maintained in a certain way in order for them to give accurate results. They also have to be used in the right way in order to show an accurate reading. If a defendant can reveal problems with the Breathalyzer test that would render the results inaccurate, the defendant might be able to get his or her charges dropped or dismissed.
Accuracy of blood tests
Once a blood test is taken, the sample needs to be tested by a laboratory. In between the moment the sample was taken and it gets tested, a lot of things can happen – such as mishandling that renders the test invalid. A defendant might be able to reveal these kinds of issues that would invalidate the blood test results.
Rising blood alcohol concentration (BAC)
As the alcohol in a driver’s stomach continues to be absorbed, he or she could become more intoxicated as time goes by. In this respect, if police wait too long before administering a blood or breath test, the results might inaccurately show the driver to be more drunk than he or she actually was.
These are just several common ways that DUI attorneys defend against drunk driving charges. Other defenses could apply to your case more effectively depending on the unique facts related to your arrest.
Source: Findlaw, “Defenses to drunk driving,” accessed Feb. 16, 2018
