When dealing with an arrest or possible court case for a DUI, or driving under the influence of alcohol charge, you will want to make sure you exhaust every possible option in your defense to avoid receiving a conviction on the charges. Because driving under the influence of alcohol is considered to be such a serious offense in most states, a conviction for DUI can have lasting, expensive repercussions for your life, your driving record, and even your freedom. So, what options do you have to defend yourself against a DUI charge if you live in the state of California, where the California DUI laws are some of the harshest in the country?
Defenses to a California DUI
- One defense against a DUI that works in California, as well as in most other states, is to call into question the reason that you were pulled over.
In California, probable cause for a DUI is not established by being pulled over for common motor vehicle violations such as a broken tail light, burnt out headlight, or other motor vehicle related mechanical problem. In order to be a legally defensible DUI stop, the officer must pull you over because you were weaving, failing to obey road signs or other signals, or exhibiting other types of behavior related to being intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle.
- Another excellent defense against a California DUI is to ask to see the certification for the officer who administered the blood alcohol test or other field sobriety testing.
Officers must be regularly certified on any type of machine or in any method of field sobriety testing that they are going to use in the administration of their duties. If the officer does not have current certification for the testing device or testing methods that he or she used, the case can be thrown out because the results of the test are invalid – they may have been incorrectly obtained or the test may have been administered incorrectly.
- You may also ask to see the calibration records for the blood alcohol content reading machine or breathalyzer that was used to determine that you were driving under the influence.
Like any scientific testing device, these machines must be periodically calibrated according to the manufacturer’s specifications, or the results that they give will be incorrect. If you find that the machine was not calibrated recently, you may have grounds to have the case dismissed because the test results may have been wrong.
Getting Help
Because the California DUI laws are so strict, you want to make sure you do everything you can to avoid potentially severe penalties. One of the best things to do is to hire an experienced DUI lawyer. Your attorney can take steps to make sure that you explore all avenues to prove your innocence and get the charges dropped.
