Driving drunk is something that many people admit they know they shouldn’t do. This doesn’t stop some people from driving after they have had a few drinks.
If you are stopped and end up being placed under arrest for drunk driving, you need to think carefully about everything you say and do. Your defense strategy actually starts at the second that you are pulled over for drunk driving.
As you are thinking about your defense options, make sure that you explore all possible strategies. You must not wait until the last minute to start exploring these options. Instead, get going as soon as you get arrested.
#1: Reasonable suspicion for the stop
A police officer can’t stop you for no reason at all. Instead, the officer has to have reasonable suspicion to initiate a traffic stop. This is actually a low standard that isn’t difficult for the officer to meet. Some examples of reasonable suspicion include seeing you swerve, drive too fast or drive too slowly. The officer might also stop you if you don’t stop at a stop sign or if you fail to obey other traffic laws.
#2: Violation of civil rights
Your civil rights must be kept intact during the traffic stop. Some examples of the rights you have include your right to have an attorney present during questioning and your right to remain silent. Certain search and seizure rights also apply to these cases. As you are going through the motions of the stop and arrest, be sure to make a note of anything you think might be a violation of your rights so you can discuss it with your attorney later.
#3: Accuracy of testing
You might be able to call the accuracy of the blood-alcohol concentration test into question. There are several things to consider here. One is the calibration of the equipment. Another is the training or certification of the person who administered the test. You might also be able to introduce facts about how long it took from the stop until the test was done and how the test sample was handled during the chain of custody.
#4: Reason for the incident
Duress and entrapment are two possible defenses to drunk driving charges if they apply to your case. These might be difficult to prove, but you should still consider them if there is reason to believe that they were components of your case. Duress would mean that you were in imminent danger if you didn’t drive drunk. Entrapment means an officer of the law encouraged you to drive drunk.