How To Beat a DUI in California

A drunk driving conviction in California is profound as it results in life-changing consequences. You could end up in jail or prison for a long time, pay a hefty court fine, and lose your driving privilege. The conviction also appears and remains in your criminal record for years, impacting your life and making it difficult to make meaningful friends and find a suitable job or neighborhood.

Fortunately, you can fight your DUI charge to avoid a conviction and its harsh consequences. A skilled DUI attorney can study the details of your case to determine weak areas and loopholes they can use to obtain a favorable outcome for your case. They can also use some of the best strategies to compel the court to reduce or dismiss your charges.

Best Defense Strategies for a DUI Charge

Drunk driving is a serious matter, as it is among the leading causes of devastating and fatal accidents on the roads. The police are always on the lookout for drunk or drugged motorists. Once you are arrested for a DUI, the police will act quickly to obtain evidence against you and ensure you are convicted and penalized for your actions. Thus, DUI investigations start right after your arrest. You must keep these in mind if you are under investigation for drunk or drugged driving:

• It is best to exercise your right to stay silent to avoid incriminating yourself. The arresting officer will read your Miranda rights, which include the right not to answer any questions the police ask. You can leave all the talking and negotiations to your lawyer to protect yourself.
• It is best to contact an attorney right after your arrest. Do not attempt to negotiate your way out with the arresting officer, as that could land you in a graver situation. You have a right to a state-appointed attorney if you cannot afford one.
• It is advisable to cooperate with the police, even if you feel they are unfair or are sure of your innocence. Any attempt to resist an arrest will not be taken lightly and could result in additional criminal charges. Remember that you could be prosecuted for failing to submit to DUI testing after an arrest. Once you cooperate, the process will be smoother.

Skilled and experienced DUI attorneys use several defense strategies to beat DUI charges for their clients. Your competent DUI attorney will put up a solid defense and present indisputable evidence to convince the court of your innocence. A solid defense by an experienced DUI attorney can result in the dismissal of your charges. Sometimes, the prosecutor will not file charges if they discover you have a strong defense.

Here are some of the strategies your attorney can use to beat your DUI charge in California:

Your Driving Pattern Does Not Indicate Drunk or Drugged Driving

Erratic or careless driving gives the police probable cause for a DUI arrest. However, it does not necessarily mean that you were driving while under the influence. The police need more evidence for the prosecutor to prove a DUI case beyond a reasonable doubt. If your driving pattern is the prosecutor's only strong evidence, your brilliant DUI attorney can challenge it.

For example, your attorney can argue that you were dealing with a mechanical issue in the vehicle or were trying to hit an animal on the road. Erratic driving alone cannot result in a DUI conviction. The jury will not deliver a guilty verdict if it has doubts about whether or not you were drunk or drugged.

Your Field Sobriety Test Results Are Unreliable

After stopping you on suspicion of drunk or drugged driving, the police can ask you to perform some field sobriety tests. These tests assess your coordination, balance, and ability or inability to divide attention when facing multiple tasks. These scientifically proven tests could provide reliable evidence to support other DUI evidence. The judge can admit your test results as compelling evidence to support your DUI charge if they are well administered.

However, experts have proven now and then how unreliable field sobriety tests can be. For example, if the ground is uneven and you are required to balance on one leg, you could fail. You could also fail some of these tests if you have an underlying condition that affects your balance and coordination.

An intelligent attorney can challenge your field sobriety test results to make them inadmissible in court. That could leave the prosecution with little or zero evidence to support your charges, resulting in a case dismissal.

Your Breath Test Results Are Wrong

The police will administer a breath test after arrest to determine the level of alcohol in your blood. Breath tests are standard BAC tests, whose results are admissible in court. If the results indicate that your BAC was 0.08% or more during your arrest, it means that you were too impaired to drive. A lower BAC level means that you can drive safely.

If your BAC results are incriminating, your attorney can challenge them, too. The police use breathalyzers to conduct breath tests on suspected DUI defendants. However, these devices only sometimes produce accurate results. For example, if the breathalyzer is faulty, it will likely register the wrong BAC result.

The law requires the police to only use well-maintained breathalyzers when conducting breath tests. The breathalyzers must be well calibrated and regularly maintained to ensure they work as they should. If the breathalyzer the officer used on you was faulty or not calibrated, your skilled DUI attorney can compel the judge to dismiss your BAC results. If that is the only substantial evidence the prosecution has against you, they will not prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt. That will result in a dismissal.

The blood Test Results Are Incorrect

Sometimes, the police run blood tests instead of breath tests to determine a driver’s blood-alcohol concentration. For example, if you are unconscious or the police suspect you could be high on drugs, they will not use a breathalyzer. Your attorney can challenge blood test results, too, and dismiss them as inaccurate.

For example, if it took the police a long time to test your blood sample, there is a possibility that the sample was contaminated, which will affect the results. Your test results will also be inadmissible if the police do not use the correct procedures when obtaining the blood sample. If the blood test results are the only concrete evidence for the prosecution, the judge will dismiss your charges for insufficient evidence.

Your BAC Could Have Risen to an Illegal Level

A person's blood-alcohol concentration level is usually not the same when they are drinking and a few hours later. You experience the effects of alcohol sometimes after consuming it. If you had a few drinks and decided to drive home before the drink impaired your driving, your BAC would be below the required standard if the police stopped you right after consuming alcohol. However, if it took the police a long time to test your BAC level, it could have risen to an unlawful level.

A high BAC does not always mean that you were operating under the influence, especially if it was tested hours after arrest. It could be that your BAC was lower than 0.08% during arrest and only rose during the period the police kept you in custody. A brilliant DUI attorney will use this argument to compel the court to dismiss your charges.

You Were Not Driving

One of the elements the prosecution must prove in a DUI case is that the defendant was operating a vehicle at the time of their arrest. Remember that the prosecutor must prove all offense elements beyond a reasonable doubt. If there were several of you in one vehicle, the police must be sure that the person they arrest is the driver. If you were all arrested and charged with DUI, you have a solid defense if you were not the driver.

It is not unlawful to ride in a car with a higher-than-standard BAC. It only becomes an offense if you drive with a high BAC level. You are not guilty of drunk driving if someone else is the driver. However, that does not mean you must name the driver as part of your defense.

The Police Did Not Have a Probable Cause to Arrest You

Even if the police are mandated to maintain law and order, they must follow the law when performing their duties. The law requires officers to have probable cause to stop and investigate a person for any crime, including DUI. It is unlawful for an officer to stop and investigate you for DUI randomly. They must do so only if they suspect you of drunken driving. For example, if you drive recklessly, are speeding, or violate any other traffic offense, an officer has probable cause to stop and investigate you.

The only place the police do not require probable cause is at a DUI checkpoint, but they must follow a particular set of predetermined criteria to stop and investigate motorists for DUI.

If you believe that the arresting officer lacked probable cause for your arrest, you can raise the issue with your attorney. If the officer violated the law when arresting and investigating you for DUI, the judge will dismiss your case.

Your Signs of Impairment Were Inaccurate

When officers stop you on suspicion of DUI, they ask random questions while reading your behavior and responses. How you appear and respond could result in an arrest if the officer sees signs of intoxication. But you can challenge that in court if you are sure the officer was mistaken.

For example, the officer could have assumed that your slurred speech or bloodshot eyes were a sign of intoxication. However, other medical and non-medical conditions could have the same signs. For example, if you are simply tired or have an allergic reaction that affects your eyes, you could look intoxicated, but it is not necessarily so. Some medications could make you appear drugged while, in the actual sense, your ability to drive is not impaired.

A competent attorney will argue your case to compel the judge to dismiss your charges.

Your Positive BAC Result Was False

A false positive BAC result is not unusual. A breathalyzer produces your BAC results based on the alcohol level in your breath. If you consumed or used something with an alcohol component a few minutes before your breath test was taken, you could register a false positive BAC even though you have not consumed any alcohol. For example, using an alcohol-based mouthwash could result in a false positive.

Similarly, people with GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux, can register a false positive when submitting to a breath DUI test. The disease produces a mixture of various substances in the stomach, causing a reaction that could produce the same results as alcohol in a breathalyzer. If you believe that the only reason you face DUI charges is because you have GERD, your attorney can demonstrate your innocence for a no-guilty verdict.

The Police Misconduct Themselves

The police are guided by the law when discharging their duties to the public. They have guidelines to follow when stopping motorists, investigating, and conducting DUI arrests. Sadly, police misconduct is widespread. Sometimes, the police get away with it, but a skilled attorney will not let that happen. Discussing all the details of your arrest with your attorney is advisable. That way, they can determine instances when the police misconducted themselves or violated your rights and use those instances to obtain a favorable outcome for your case.

Police misconduct does not refer to a single behavior pattern. There are many ways in which the police can misconduct themselves. For example, if they trick, force, or coerce you into confessing to a crime or giving up your rights to counsel, you can use that against them during the trial. Sometimes, the police fabricate evidence, and other times, they conduct an illegal search and seizure. Any evidence the police gather through misconduct is inadmissible in court.

The Officer Failed to Conduct a 15-minute Observation

If, after a DUI investigation, the officer is convinced that you were driving while intoxicated, they must give you 15 minutes before administering a DUI test. The officer must observe you for these minutes to ensure that you do not vomit, smoke, or put something in your mouth, which could affect the test results. However, the police usually do these things in a rush, administering tests and conducting arrests quickly without following the required procedures.

If you take a DUI breath test immediately after having a few drinks, your BAC results will be inaccurate, and that could result in an unlawful conviction. Thus, your attorney can fight the results to obtain a fair outcome for your case.

Your Breath Test Was Not Properly Administered

The results of a DUI breath test are compelling and can result in a conviction, even without any other supporting evidence. The police must be careful when administering these tests to ensure the results are accurate, reliable, and admissible in court. However, officers make mistakes all the time. For example, they fail to administer the tests well, resulting in a false positive result. The officer administering the breathalyzer test must be adequately trained to use a breathalyzer. If not, they could make mistakes that could result in unreliable results.

A skilled attorney can investigate the officer who administered your breath test to determine whether they had the proper training. If not, the attorney will fight to have the evidence thrown out.

Your Protein Diet, Hypoglycemia, or Diabetes Influenced Your BAC Results

If you are on a high-protein diet, are diabetic, or have hypoglycemia, you could register a false positive in a DUI breath test. Some chronic medical conditions are known to elevate a person’s BAC, resulting in a false result that could result in an unlawful convection. It is advisable to share your medical condition with your attorney to ensure they have adequate information to help with your defense.

You could also register a false high BAC if your blood sugar is low when taking the DUI test. A skilled DUI attorney will consider your medical history to find ways in which they can apply that information to your case.

Find a Competent DUI Attorney Near Me

Do you or someone you know face DUI charges in Bakersfield?

That severe charge can result in life-altering consequences, including incarceration, a hefty court fine, a revoked or suspended driver’s license, and professional discipline. You are also left with a damaging criminal record after the conviction that will continue to impact your life after serving your sentence.

However, we can help you fight your charges for the best possible outcome for your case at Koenig Law Office. Our team comprises highly trained and experienced DUI attorneys who use the best defense strategies to obtain favorable outcomes in DUI cases. Our aggressive defense can compel the judge to reduce or dismiss your charges. Call us at 661-793-7222 to discuss your case details, options, and our services.