A DUI conviction can wreck havoc on your life. Fines, community service, jail time, a permanent criminal record, and loss of your license are only some of the consequences that can go along with a DUI conviction. As such, if you have been accused of DUI, avoiding conviction should be your first priority. The best way to avoid DUI convictions is, of course, to refrain from driving under the influence. However, once you have been accused of DUI, there are several things you may be able to do in order to avoid being convicted.
How to Avoid DUI Conviction
The first key to avoiding DUI conviction is to hire an experienced DUI attorney. Your attorney can help you to evaluate all of your options so you can decide what is best for you. Generally, you have two main options:
- Plea bargain the case down. Depending on the nature of your offense and how much alcohol was in your system, a prosecutor or district attorney may be willing to let you plead to a lesser charge than DUI charges. You'd likely still face some fines or community service, but you may be able to avoid having a DUI on your record and receive a less severe penalty.
- You can introduce defenses, arguments or evidence designed to introduce reasonable doubt to the court. If you go this route, your aim is to prove that you are innocent of the charges and that you should not be convicted.
Defenses to DUI
If you decide to take your case to court to prove your innocence, then the key is introducing reasonable doubt, since with all criminal offenses you must be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt before the court can convict you. There are a number of potential defenses to DUI you can use to do this including:
- The rising BAC defense. After you finish drinking, your blood alcohol level keeps going up. You can argue that your BAC at the time the police gave you the breathalyzer was higher than at the time you were driving.
- Faulty sobriety tests. Field sobriety tests are not 100 percent accurate, and even with breathalyzers or blood tests, something can go wrong. Evidence can be contaminated, things such as taking antacids or using mouth wash can make your BAC appear higher, and a whole host of other things can go wrong. You can introduce expert testimony to discredit this evidence against you.
- Procedural problems: If the police who arrested you did not follow proper procedures, didn't read you your Miranda rights, or otherwise violated your constitutional protections, their evidence- and the case- can be thrown out.
Getting Help
If you have been accused of driving under the influence or driving drunk and you want to avoid DUI convictions, you should speak with an experienced DUI defense attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney can assist you in making arguments and collecting evidence to prove your innocence. He can help get the charges reduced, or even dismissed entirely, so you can go on with your life.
