What defenses are there in a DUI or DWI case?
As a defense attorney, we look at two things. Number one, if there’s a blood draw or a breath test. That’s your blood alcohol level. That’s the first thing. Was your blood taken properly? Did they have a legal right to take your blood? If you blew into the breathalyzer machine, was the machine calibrated properly? Was there a proper wait time? We have the experts available to us to help to defend you.
Now, if the officer did not take a breath or blood sample, then we look at just the subjective nature of, were you physically impaired at the time yoU were operating the motor vehicle? If you are not impaired, it’s a not guilty verdict. That’s a subjective measurement. At that point, we’ll go after the officer’s method of determining whether or not you were impaired. We’ll look at the video of this field sobriety test, and we’ll show that you either were fine, or if you’re not as smooth as the officer wanted you to be, was that still your natural way of performing?
Not everybody can go ahead and hold their leg up for 30 seconds and stay balanced. We have to look at all those factors. The way I look at it is this, I asked the jury, “Did my tie match my jacket?” Well, that’s an opinion. That’s not a fact, and that’s exactly what the officer is saying, “This person was impaired at that time.” That’s his opinion. Until the state proves it beyond a reasonable doubt, that’s not a fact.
