Imagine you were on your way home from a party and you got pulled over. The officer smelled alcohol on your breath, so he administered several field sobriety tests and a breathalyzer. Following that, you were placed under arrest for suspicion of driving while intoxicated (also known as driving under the influence).
Given the potential serious consequences that come along with a DWI/DUI conviction, you know that you need to aggressively fight back against the charges you’re facing. You might not know that it is actually possible to challenge both the evidence against you and the charges pending in a DWI/DUI case.
Possible defenses
There are several common defenses against DWI/DUI charges. The most widely used ones are described in detail below.
- Improper stop – this defense challenges the reasonable suspicion necessary to pull you over in the first place. After all, if the officer had no valid reason to stop your vehicle, he could not have arrested you.
- Accuracy of field sobriety test results – field sobriety tests (like the walk-and-turn and the horizontal gaze nystagmus test) are inherently subjective. The results are analyzed by the officer at the scene, who makes a pass/fail determination. “Failing” a field sobriety test isn’t the end of the line, however. It’s possible that the officer administered the test wrong, that a medical condition interfered with the results, or that the officer simply wasn’t trained in how to properly interpret the results.
- Breathalyzer test results – breathalyzer tests are by no means infallible. These devices may seem simplistic, but they are actually highly technical machines that must be properly calibrated, used, cleaned, and stored in order to be accurate. Failing at any one of these steps could lead to flawed – and challengeable – results.
These are by no means that only defenses available to fight back against Kentucky DWI/DUI charges. If you’re facing charges, an experienced criminal attorney can help you mount an aggressive defense to minimize consequences, have charges dropped or lowered, and prevent a simple mistake from hugely impacting your life.
