DUI Investigative Considerations
DUI / DWI investigations begin in many ways. The suspected DUI driver may be pulled over by police for a moving violation unrelated to drunk driving, such as speeding, and the officer may initiate a drinking and driving investigation. An officer may see a driver drift between lanes or exhibit other driving patterns associated with DUI / DWI. Traffic collisions sometimes prompt driving under the influence investigations. And sometimes all it takes is the bad luck of driving into a DUI checkpoint.
Sometimes police launch drunk driving investigations even though they had no legal reason to stop the driver. An experienced DUI / DWI defense attorney from www.NotDrunk.com will attempt to suppress any evidence that stemmed from a driving under the influence arrest that occurred without probable cause.
Police sometimes pull motorists over on suspicion of DUI / DWI after spotting driving patterns such as driving too slowly, weaving, or rapid braking or acceleration. However, one of the most common reasons police pull drivers over – speeding – isn’t recognized as drunk driving patterns by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). If the arresting officer used speeding as the reason a driver was pulled over on suspicion of DUI / DWI, any evidence gathered during the arrest may be suppressed.
Police are increasingly relying on DUI / DWI sobriety checkpoints as tools to snare suspected drunk drivers. However, police don’t always follow the protocol required for the operation of sobriety checkpoints. Any evidence gathered at a sobriety checkpoint where police didn’t follow these rules may be suppressed.
Four different categories of evidence are typically used in DUI / DWI prosecutions – chemical test results, driving patterns, field sobriety test performance, and physical signs and symptoms. An investigative failing in any of these four categories can be used to the driver’s advantage.
DUI / DWI arrests typically result in two separate charges or a single charge comprised of two or more elements – driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and violating the state’s per se laws. Per se is just another way of saying that the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was alleged to be.08 percent or greater.
Prosecutors must prove a drunk driving charge beyond a reasonable doubt in order to get a conviction. If even one juror has any doubt about a DUI / DWI defendant’s guilt, the driver cannot be found guilty. The skilled defense lawyers of www.NotDrunk.com have successfully defended countless drinking and driving cases by convincing jurors of reasonable doubt.