DUI-Defense
Dui Lawyer Spokane: DUI DEFENSES
What will you learn on this page:
- How a Spokane Dui Lawyer Can Help You.
- Basic DUI Defenses.
- Drunk Driving Fact Sheet and Some Interesting DUI Information.
- DUI Information That Can Help You Communicate With Your Dui Defense Attorney.
A dui defense attorney can help you beat your drunk driving charge. What can your defense dui lawyer do for you:
- First they can help you properly assess your case. DUIs are very technical. Dui defense requires a trained professional.
- Educate you on all of your potential options.
- Help you suppress evidence in court, if you have any valid issues.
- Negotiate your drunk driving charge to something less painful and expensive.
Drunk Driving Defenses: not an exhaustive list, but enough to get the idea.
- Rising Alcohol Levels: at the time of driving or actual physical control your BAC levels were within a legal range and your ability to drive was not appreciably affected. Why? Because the ingested alcohol had not yet been absorbed into your blood stream.
- Alcohol was consumed within two hours after driving, but not at the time of driving. For example, you had a beer and drove home. After your got home, you consumed more alcohol. It was this additional alcohol that increased your BAC. The alcohol in your system at the time of driving would have been below the per se limits, and you would not have been “affected by”.
- The Machine is Wrong: BAC machines are not perfect. There are many issues for your spokane lawyer to investigate on your behalf.
- The DUI Stop or DUI Arrest was not Legal: in this case we carefully examine your constitutional rights. Law enforcement has to follow the rules. Any illegally obtained evidence should be suppressed. This may result in your case being dismissed.
- The Field Sobriety Tests Are Invalid: standards were not met, and therefore any evidence gathered is inaccurate.
- BAC Sample Was Not Obtained Within Time Limits: if the BAC test was not completed within two hours.
- BAC Procedures Were Not Followed: Washington dui laws have strict requirements.
Drunk Driving Fact Sheet
In this section we hope to help you under stand some dui facts and other dui information.
Field Sobriety Tests or “FSTs”: FSTs are voluntary. You do not have to take these tests, and you generally should not agree to them. These tests are to help law enforcement gather enough evidence to arrest you. It’s is true that if you pass you might not end up in court. The problem is that most people do not pass.
FSTs are a battery of tests designed to show whether a person is to impaired to drive. (This may not be the exact definition of the test.)
These tests can range from the “HGN” or horizontal gaze and nystagmus test to reciting your ABCs. Most of the tests are divided attention tests.
These tests were really not designed to be done in the field (side of the road). They were meant to be done in a more controlled environment. In fact, if these tests are not done correctly they have little evidentiary value.
HGN: This test basically shows an officer if you are impaired. At least that’s what they claim. The idea is that your eye will act or react in a certain way under certain conditions. Based upon how your eye reacts the officer can then determine whether you are under the influence. I have greatly simplified this test, but I just want you to get a basic understanding.
What can affect the validity of an HGN test?
- Flashing lights from a police car;
- Certain medical conditions;
- The test is just done incorrectly.
Portable Breath Test or “PBT”: The PBT is generally not admissible into evidence. A PBT generally gives the officer probable cause to arrest you. Law enforcement swears that these tests are accurate. However, they typically are subject to many inaccuracies. For instances, mouth alcohol can really affect the readings, because most of the units in Washington do not have slope detectors. It has been reported that smoking can have an affect, and please don’t assume it is a positive effect.
The PBT is also a voluntary test. You do not have to take it, and most times you should not.
Breath Tests: When a dui defense attorney asks you what your BAC was, this is usually what they are referring to.
Are breath tests 100% accurate? I say no way! Breath tests get extremely technical. However, your dui defense lawyer may be able to keep out a breath test result. Be sure to go over your medical history with your Spokane attorney. Issues like acid reflux, diabetes, and other medical conditions can really impact your case. Keeping a breath test out can really help you negotiate your case, or even win your case in trial.
Should I take the breath test? This is a common question. The general answer is yes, BUT there are certainly circumstances where you should not. That would be impossible to address here.
So what should I do? The best answer is to take advantage of your right to counsel. If you ask the officer to let you call an attorney to ask whether you should take the breath test, they almost always will. If they don’t, make sure you bring this issue up with your Spokane DUI lawyer. Denying your right to counsel is a serious issue.
However, law enforcement is not required to let you speak to your lawyer. They typically will let you try, but your lawyer may not be available at all hours. As such, if you have questions you should talk to any available dui attorney. That usually means that you are going to be put through to a public defender.
Make sure that the officer is not standing there listening to your conversation. Politely ask them to let you speak in private. They usually want leave you totally alone, but you should have enough privacy to speak freely. If not, let whom ever you are speaking to know what is going on. This can be a form of denying your right to counsel.
What if I don’t take the test? Refusing to take the test often results in a longer license suspension, and harsher penalties.
Blood Tests: There are special blood test protocols that must be followed. If they are not, the evidence may be suppressed. If it is suppressed, it is not allowed into evidence. That can result in a dismissal, or at least put your case in a better position. It is important that law enforcement provide and use specific blood vials with specific chemicals to preserve your blood sample. If these specific vials are not used, it can affect the BAC. There are also regulations and protocols on how your blood sample can be transported.
Pre-Arrest Observations: everything you do, or don’t do, and say will be used against you. Really, everything from the first moment is being observed. Here is a partial list:
- Pre-stop driving
- Wide turns
- Failure to signal
- Sweeping lane changes
- Tires crossing the lines
- How well you pulled over
- How you looked, sounded, and smelled when the officer makes contact.
- “Red bloodshot watery eyes”
- Thick fingers”
- Slurred speech”
- “Strong smell of alcohol on breath”
- Observations of you getting out of the vehicle.
- Were you swaying side to side as you were outside of your car?
- How well you listen to and followed instructions during the FSTs.
- And much much more!
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