When can entrapment be used as a defense to a DUI charge?

Rarely, if ever, will DUI entrapment work as a defense in a DUI case. In essence, entrapment requires law enforcement or another government agent to entice or encourage an individual to commit a crime he or she would not have otherwise considered committing without the influence of the law enforcement officer. Normally, an offender will attempt to prepare an unviable claim of DUI entrapment based on the premise that law enforcement was waiting to pull over someone they suspected of drinking and driving, such as the common police tactic of the patrolling bars at closing hour. While not entrapment, these actions may constitute grounds for a legal defense nonetheless. In essence, a DUI offenders defense will hinge on proving that law enforcement lacked reason to pull over an offender in the first place and initiate the traffic stop, which ultimately led to a DUI arrest. Just because an offender leaves a given establishment does not constitute reason to pull over a driver.

Other aspects of entrapment, although erroneously claimed by defendants initially, that can work as a DUI defense include issues with informed consent under implied consent laws and issues with Miranda rights. In practice, an offender will wrongly accuse the police of entrapment stating that the law enforcement officer led them to incriminate themselves or take action, they would have otherwise not taken leading to their arrest and used as evidence for conviction. In these cases, which are subject to state by state case law concerning informed consent and chemical testing, as well as the overall view of Miranda as it stands at the time of arrest, will determine whether an offender possesses a viable defense.