Posted by duijim in on February 11, 2021
The ones who are facing A DUI Charge should be aware that a huge role in this whole following process has the testimony of the police officers. If you are wondering about the Police Testimony in a DUI Case in Atlanta, Georgia, we are going to explain everything that is important to know, just in case.
You should know that in most DUI cases, the testimony of the police officers is critical to a conviction. Giving that, in most cases, police officers are fully respected, their own testimony and their own words against the person who is convicted is something that is taken without doubting. So, the word of a police officer is very important and significant. The testimony of the police officer against the convicted person is something that is not questioned.
In many DUI cases, for example, when you are arrested while driving alone in the car, the police officer is the only witness. And of course, the court will always believe the police officer and not the one who has been accused.
But, you will be glad to hear, that the Jurors, who are after all deciding your case, are not allowed to believe the police officers just because they are police officers. On the contrary, the Jurors must object to the situation without standing at one side. If there are no other witnesses except the police officers, the Jury must pay attention to all of the proofs and circumstances.
The important thing in the police testimony is the Police report. In most cases, the police officers will fill out the reports with the most common phrases such as “bloodshot and watery eyes”, “slurred speech”, or something similar. Through the cross-examination, the court will make the decision whether this report is correct or not.
Police testimony in DUI cases in Atlanta, Georgia encompasses the police officer’s testimonies regarding a few more things. The police officers often have to witness the accused driver’s ability to take the sobriety test( the test for establishment of the alcohol level in the driver’s blood system). You see, if the driver had some inconveniences while taking the sobriety test for some reason, then the testimony of the police officer will be that “the driver didn’t succeed taking the sobriety test” which means that the driver was surely intoxicated. But, the fact is that sobriety tests are not always easy to accomplish, regarding different reasons. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the driver was intoxicated with alcohol because he wasn’t able to take the sobriety test. That’s why it is important to find a suitable lawyer. Because the lawyer can demonstrate to the court that many different circumstances could affect the driver’s ability for taking the sobriety test. For example, it could happen that the police officer asked the driver to step out of the car and walk heel to toe ten steps, but the driver couldn’t do that for some other issue, not because of being intoxicated with alcohol.