Posted by duijim in on February 27, 2024
An alcohol or drug-related DUI conviction can dramatically change your life, from jail time and fines to driver’s license suspensions and possible jail terms.
An Atlanta DUI lawyer can leverage police errors in your favor when handling your case. There are specific procedures officers are expected to abide by when administering blood and breath chemical tests.
1. Talking Too Much
As soon as a driver faces DUI charges, they often feel powerless over the situation and make mistakes that harm their case – whether this involves admitting drinking or refusing field sobriety tests, even seemingly minor actions can have far-reaching repercussions. It is therefore vital that any individual facing such charges remain silent throughout their proceedings so as not to say something that might later be used against them in court proceedings.
DUI cases involve the presentation of numerous pieces of evidence, from photographs and witnesses to expert experts like medical doctors and pharmacist professors. A video recording is among the most convincing pieces of evidence, showing you performing field tests without showing signs of unusual behavior such as acting strangely or confusedness can help convince a jury not to find you guilty.
At all stages of their DUI case, defendants should always remain polite and respectful towards everyone in attendance – including judges, officers involved and anyone else involved with their trial.
Talking too much during a DUI case can also harm its defense. This is especially true if the driver discusses their drinking habits with law enforcement officers; their trained ears will identify clues of intoxication from your speech patterns that they can use against you. Admitting to drinking and discussing how much was consumed could be used against you as it indicates impairment at the time of arrest.
Avoid discussing your medical condition with law enforcement officials as this could be used against them in court, particularly if their performance during field sobriety tests was impaired by it. A record from your doctor showing you did not have any issues at the time of arrest can help disprove their argument against you.
Finally, it is best to avoid taking any roadside evaluations or tests, such as alphabet tests, walk-the-line tests or portable breathalyzer evaluations approved by NHTSA that could potentially be used against you if administered incorrectly; these voluntary evaluations could even be affected by factors like improper training, prescription drug complications or chain-of-custody errors in blood samples that can influence their results.
2. Refusing to Take Field Sobriety Tests
Field sobriety tests are widely utilized by police to help them assess whether a driver is under the influence. Most officers receive training in administering these tests as part of their basic police certification; however, these assessments may still lead to errors even when administered correctly; an experienced Alpharetta DUI lawyer can challenge their results and assist in getting your case dismissed.
Officers typically request you to perform three standard field sobriety tests during a traffic stop, including Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN), Walk and Turn and One Leg Stand tests to detect involuntary eye jerking that indicates impairment.
These tests aren’t foolproof and may be affected by numerous variables, including age, physical condition, environmental conditions, nervousness, medications and health conditions such as glaucoma or diabetes which make performing one leg stand tests difficult. HGN and walk and turn tests can also be affected by uneven surfaces or lack of firm footing that interfere with performance.
An experienced DUI attorney can help you understand your rights and ensure the officer provided proper advice about implied consent obligations, including your right to refuse field sobriety tests. Unfortunately, many police officers fail to communicate this message clearly to drivers, leading them to believe they must submit to roadside testing procedures.
Refusing field sobriety testing may lead to an immediate license suspension; however, if police officers have reasonable cause for stopping you on the road – such as speeding or weaving in and out of lanes – then they may require that once arrested they conduct a chemical test on you.
An experienced Atlanta DUI lawyer can review the details surrounding your case to ascertain whether any mistakes were made by police officers in informing you about implied consent obligations and use this knowledge to create a strong defense strategy for you. They may also determine whether any unreliable chemical evidence was used against you and fight to have it excluded from court proceedings.
3. Failing to Maintain Lane
Reckless driving behaviors such as weaving and swerve can be surefire indicators of DUI charges, but seemingly harmless behaviors such as failing to maintain lane can also result in charges against drivers in Georgia – such as failing to maintain lanes – which is considered a traffic offense and punishable with fines and points added to drivers’ records. But an experienced Georgia DUI Lawyer may be able to help defend you against such allegations.
To commit this offense, a driver must not stay within one lane without crossing over or touching the solid line that separates lanes. This definition can include even slight movement from one lane to the next – something DUI task force Officers are trained to observe closely for when initiating traffic stops that investigate suspected driving under the influence.
At the core of every case is an officer observing that it was unsafe for you to switch lanes, meaning there must have been another vehicle present or else you would have hit it when moving from one lane to the other. If this is not the case then hiring a Georgia DUI Lawyer immediately could help combat both its consequences and ticket.
If you were injured in an accident with a driver who failed to maintain their lane, compensation may be available for your injuries and losses. Our experienced personal injury lawyers can help ensure you get what is owed to you.
Failure to maintain lane violations are typically misdemeanor charges that will only impact your driving record, but nonetheless it’s still wise to contact us as these can have long-term repercussions and should not be taken lightly.
4. Failing to Use a Turn Signal
Failure to activate their turn signal could result in a crash that injures or kills another motorist on the roadway. Georgia law mandates that the turn signal be activated an adequate distance prior to turning, giving both those in front and behind sufficient warning of their intentions. It is also illegal to pass through an intersection without first coming to a complete stop, providing pedestrians and vehicles in it sufficient room.
As well as knowing their legal obligations, motorists must also understand that statements they make during a DUI stop could potentially be used against them in court. Therefore it is vitally important that motorists remain calm and silent whenever interacting with police on the side of the road – they typically wear body cameras, and patrol cars have cameras as well, providing proof of everything said or done at the stop site in some form or another. A Georgia DUI lawyer knows only your name and address are required by law during such stops.
Finally, it is crucial that a driver affirmatively assert their right to refuse state administered chemical tests (blood or breath) during a DUI stop. If they sign their name but later change their minds about taking part in them they risk forfeiting this right and facing license suspension before even filing their case in court.
We have successfully convinced of our Client’s innocence of DUI after they were pulled over for an initial lane violation offense. His argument to them was convincing – and they agreed, not convicting of DUI in this instance.