If you face charges for driving under the influence (DUI) in California, you’re facing severe penalties that could haunt you for a decade or more. You can feel more confident about your situation by reviewing the six best ways to fight and beat your California DUI case.
A Los Angeles DUI lawyer can help you craft a legal defense to protect your future, potentially allowing you to avoid jail time, high fines, license restrictions, and other penalties. Learn more about your options by calling or completing our online contact form.
#1: Dispute the Reason for Your Traffic Stop
Police officers should only stop drivers with reasonable cause. Officers commonly testify that they witnessed someone driving in an erratic way that they felt was consistent with the signs of drunk driving. They may report swerving, braking inappropriately, and failing to yield to traffic signals.
While this may sound convincing to some, your defense lawyer can challenge this observation as unreliable evidence. The court may dismiss your case if a lawyer shows that a police officer had no just cause to pull you over or did so due to issues like racial profiling.
Additionally, in most cases, a traffic violation isn’t a sign of alcohol-related impairment.
#2: Dispute Sobriety Test Results
During your trial, the prosecution may rely heavily on your performance during a field sobriety test. These results can seem like powerful evidence about your level of intoxication, but that misses the variety of factors that could contribute to your poor performance.
These factors could include:
- Dizziness or nausea
- Improper footwear
- Performance anxiety induced by the officer
- Your natural clumsiness
A DUI defense attorney explaining these factors to a jury can be a powerful tool to instill a sense of reasonable doubt. After all, a sensible alternative explanation means that the jury should vote not guilty on the charge.
Your attorney can handle issues with your field sobriety test, establishing that the influence of alcohol didn’t impact your performance. Even the most reliable form of standardized field sobriety testing is only 77% reliable, according to the Department of Justice.
#3: Dispute the Results of a Breath Test
If the police gave you a breathalyzer test to measure your blood alcohol content (BAC) following your arrest, you can count on the prosecutor trying to bring that evidence to court. However, a skilled DUI attorney will likely challenge the breath test results on multiple counts.
Many factors can cause a breath testing instrument to give erroneous readings on your breath sample. You may get an artificially high blood alcohol concentration readout if:
- You recently used a mouthwash
- The breathalyzer missed regular maintenance
- You maintain certain diets or have a medical condition
- The police officers failed to administer the test correctly
If you suffer from GERD or acid reflux, for example, a breathalyzer may erroneously report that you’re under the influence of alcohol. A breath testing instrument may provide a false positive if mishandled.
Bringing up these strong defenses is one of the six best ways to fight and beat your California DUI case. Reducing the admissible evidence available to the prosecution can help you avoid a conviction.
A legal professional can provide additional details about this defense and everything you need to know about DUI breath tests.
#4: Challenge the Results of a Blood Test
Much like the breath tests, blood tests do not always accurately report your true blood alcohol concentration. However, blood tests suffer unique problems that are not found in breath tests.
Suppose a laboratory error contaminates your blood sample, or the lab stores it improperly. In that case, your lawyer will seek to suppress the evidence, meaning it is unavailable for the prosecutor at trial. Your attorney can discuss this valid defense and determine if it would work in your situation.
A criminal defense lawyer may assess the situation to see if police officers followed all proper procedures to administer the test. Showing that the police made mistakes can prove an effective defense at trial when dealing with DUI accusations.
#5: Use the Rising BAC Defense
Even if there are no errors with the chemical tests that report your BAC, you’ll recall that the prosecution must be able to prove that you were legally intoxicated while driving. However, alcohol does not get immediately absorbed into your bloodstream.
It can take up to three hours for your body to fully absorb any alcohol you may have ingested. If a chemical test shows you at or slightly above the legal limit, your lawyer may use a rising BAC defense. An attorney may state that your BAC was low at the time of driving and rose after you stopped.
If the police administered the chemical test well after you stopped driving, it is reasonable that you were below the legal limit for the length of your drive. The court may dismiss your case if the prosecution can’t show that you were at or above the legal limit while driving.
#6: Argue That You Were Not Driving
Let’s say an officer arrested you for DUI after they found you asleep in the driver’s seat of your car. The officer testified that your car’s engine was warm and you had the keys in the ignition. They suggest you had to drive the vehicle for all these factors to fall into place.
However, your attorney will likely be able to fight this testimony. An attorney may argue that you went to sleep off your drinks in your vehicle. If the officer can’t prove that you actually drove the car while inebriated, you will have another tool in hand to beat your DUI case.
This defense strategy could help you avoid a DUI conviction when handled by a skilled lawyer. You can learn more about the six best ways to fight and beat your California DUI case with our team.
Discuss Ways to Fight a DUI Charge in California
You can review the six best ways to fight and beat your California DUI case with an experienced defense attorney. Your lawyer can go over your defense strategy if the police accuse you of impaired driving, protecting you throughout the legal process and helping you avoid severe penalties.
You can discuss defense options and your unique situation when you call or fill out our online contact form.
