By: James Filippi
Perhaps you have had “too much for the road,” and you end up getting a DUI offense by driving while intoxicated. Consequently, you could find yourself staring at hefty fines or even long sentences, especially if you caused personal injuries. Your first step to get out of that mess is to hire a DUI Attorney to represent you confidently in court.
Our legal firm has professional and experienced DUI defense attorneys located throughout Northern California, including, Rocklin, CA, Sacramento, CA, & Fairfield, CA. We will work hard to ensure your DUI arrest does not translate into a DUI conviction with huge criminal liability. We have successfully defended DUI cases in California, and we promise to fight for you skillfully as well.
Once we deploy our DUI defense strategies, you can rest assured that you won’t have to be subjected to the harsh California DUI penalties, which includes hefty fines, jail or a long suspension of your driver’s license.
Winning DUI charges
There are many defense methods that you can rely on to win a Californian DUI case or get your penalties and fines reduced. A good defense should also protect your license, your job as well as your driving record.
The following are some of the legal defenses you and your DUI attorney can use in case you are facing California DUI charges.
Reckless driving is not always a result of DUI
You can convince the court that you were only driving poorly and not under the influence of alcohol. In this case, the Northern California prosecutors have the task of proving that your driving pattern was consistent with the driving of a person under the influence.
A DUI attorney can work to debunk this theory. The attorney should manage to elicit testimony from the arresting officer that driving violations are not always the result of people under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He or she should argue that most of the violations are committed by sober drivers as well. Your attorney should keep reminding the court that driving patterns cannot always be reliably used as a predictor of DUI.
Challenge use of physical symptoms of intoxication as evidence
A reasonable attorney should fight California DUI charges by challenging the prosecutor’s strategy of relying on physical signs of intoxication to prove that you were driving under the influence. The prosecutor will be relying on your physical appearance at the time of the arrest to determine whether indeed you were under the influence of alcohol.
The prosecutor will use your physical appearances, such as red, watery eyes, flushed face, slurred speech, and the pungent smell of alcohol on your breath. These signs and symptoms are listed on the DUI arrest form used by local law enforcement when processing DUI arrests.
Your DUI attorney will defend you against the use of the mentioned physical symptoms as evidence of driving under the influence, by giving an elaborate explanation to the cause of these signs.
The DUI attorney could argue that the symptoms mentioned could be a result of allergies, eye irritations fatigue, or a cold and doesn’t necessarily mean that you were intoxicated. A prudent DUI attorney should also argue against the prosecutor’s use of the smell of alcohol on your breath as evidence of intoxication. Alcohol has no odor. What is usually referred to as alcohol breath, could be the smell of other non-alcoholic beverages.
Field sobriety test could be inaccurate
The most crucial evidence that the prosecutor will use to prove your DUI case in California is the results of the Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs) administered prior to your arrest. With the help of your attorney, you should manage to challenge these results. The NHTSA gives the accuracy of FST at 91%; a criterion used to predict alcohol impairment in a person correctly. This percentage depends on other factors, such as the level of training and experience of the administering officer, as well as your balance and coordination at the time of FSTs.
You and your DUI attorney can argue on the reliability of FSTs as a form of evidence by casting doubts on the experience and training of the administering officer. Your attorney should also argue against the use of FSTs as evidence because your balance and coordination could impair the results during the test. The argument should be based on how your natural physical coordination, fatigue and nerves could have affected the results of the test.
No proper observation was done
Your attorney should question whether the arresting officer conducted an appropriate 15-minute observation test before giving you the DUI breath test as required by the law. In most cases, officers ignore this observation criterion. If your attorney could prove that indeed, the officer failed to conduct a proper observation process, then it could form a solid ground for your case to be dismissed.
How to Select the Best DUI Attorney for your DUI Case
The million-dollar question is: what should you consider in an Attorney? Well, here are 3 factors that you must consider when hiring a DUI lawyer:
Credentials – It won’t help your case if you hire a DUI Attorney with weak credentials. Ensure that your lawyer has all the necessary certifications and licensing. A lawyer with all the essential certifications has the legitimacy to represent you in court and most possibly to win your case.
Experience – Always ensure your attorney has the necessary experience in DUI court cases. Look at his practice history; consider the years of experience and the number of similar court cases won before you decide on bringing them on board.
Legal cost – Legal representation can be sometimes costly. Experts recommend hiring an attorney who offers affordable services, and can assure you quality services. It’s always presumed that the higher the experience, the higher the cost. Go for lawyers with many years of experience, but one that doesn’t overcharge for their services.
Finally, a DUI offense should not be taken lightly. In case you are facing a DUI case, always seek to know a little bit more information before hiring a DUI Attorney to help you in your case. We have both the qualifications and experience needed to win your DUI case. Our services are also very affordable. If you need a DUI attorney, speak with us today. We have you covered throughout Northern California, including, Rocklin, CA, Sacramento, CA, & Fairfield, CA!
