A drunk driving conviction can have more serious consequences than you may realize. Even if you manage to escape any significant jail time, you still face the loss of your driver’s license and major fines.
Additionally, a DWI conviction could cause you to lose your job or permanently bar you from holding certain jobs in the future.
If you are arrested for DWI, you may feel hopeless when it comes to defending yourself. This may be particularly true if the prosecution has evidence against you such as blood or breath test results showing you were driving while over the legal alcohol consumption limit.
However, there might be some defenses available to you, whether your DUI occurred in New Jersey or New York. Knowing your potential defenses requires a thorough examination of the facts and circumstances of the situation.
Lack of probable cause
A police officer cannot perform a DUI investigation or arrest you for DUI without probable cause.
Probable cause means the officer had a basis to believe you were driving drunk. If you can show that there was no probable cause, everything that happened after that is inadmissible in court.
Blood and breath tests
The result of a blood or breath test can be challenged. Police officers must follow specific procedures when they obtain your breath and/or blood to determine if you were driving under the influence of alcohol.
For example, a breathalyzer must be calibrated correctly to give accurate results. You must also take the breathalyzer test within a certain time. If you were breathalyzed too late, the results could be excluded as evidence.
Field sobriety tests
If your arrest was the result of failed field sobriety tests, there are several ways to challenge these results. Field sobriety tests are a series of physical or mental exercises the officer asks you to perform in front of them.
Evidence of a physical disability or mental condition, such as anxiety, can be used to show the reason you failed the tests.
Do let a DUI charge affect your future. A strong DUI defense can increase your chance of a dismissed charge, as well as protect your rights and reputation.