Knowing how to respond to drunk driving charges can be critical to preserving the future of the accused individual. DUI charges can result in both criminal and administrative penalties that can leave accused individuals with potential jail time, fines and driver’s license suspension.
There are different types of drunk driving defenses including affirmative defense such as necessity, duress, entrapment, mistake of fact, involuntary intoxication and other types of defenses as well. It is helpful to know when these affirmative defenses apply but there are also other common ways of defending against drunk driving charges that include challenging the police officer’s observations, assertion of facts or the evidence alleged against the accused individual.
To begin with, it may be possible to challenge drunk driving charges if police officers conducted an improper stop without the proper authority to do so. It is also possible to challenge the accuracy of either field sobriety test or breathalyzer test and whether the test was property administered. It may also be possible to challenge the accuracy and administration of a breath test conducted at the police station. Additionally, it may be possible to challenge the chain of custody of any blood alcohol test that was taken or that the accused individual’s blood alcohol content level rose from the time of the traffic stop and the time of breathalyzer or blood test. Additional factors may also interfere with the accuracy of a test.
Because DUI laws differ by state, it is helpful to be familiar with the laws in your state and because the consequences of drunk driving charges can be so serious, it is essential to be familiar with all of the criminal defense options available to the accused individual. Legal protections are available to accused individuals for a reason and they should be familiar with what they are.