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To decide which defenses could be used in your driving while intoxicated (DWI) case, your legal representative will look at the evidence showed by the police and interview witnesses. Some common defenses observed in DWI cases include:
Driving Observation Defenses
The prosecutor always relies (sometimes exclusively) on the arresting police officer’s testimony about how exactly a DWI suspect was driving a vehicle, such as:
- Very slow-moving speeds
- Uneven speeds (very fast, then very slow, for example)
- Moving from one side of the lane to the other
- Crossing the center line of the highway
- Running a red light
- Hesitation in driving through a green light
A decent defense attorney will argue that there are many different explanations for these driving behaviors that do not have anything to do with being alcohol-impaired.
Behavior Observation Defenses
An officer may additionally testify as to a DWI suspect’s appearance and behavior when questioned, including:
- Slurred speech
- Bloodshot eyes
- Inappropriate joking or incoherent speech
- Stumbling or not being in position to walk very far
- Pupil enlargement
Defenses against these observations that do not have anything related to being drunk could be:
- Lack of sleep
- Allergies
- Contact lenses
- Stress due to personal circumstances
- Medications
- Foods recently ingested
- Nervousness over being stopped by police
- Physical impairments
Field Sobriety Test Defenses
When an official suspects you may be too inebriated to drive, the policeman will likely ask you to carry out what are called “field sobriety tests.” These tests are intended to assess your physical and mental performance, and include:
- Walking a straight line
- Walking backwards
- Reciting the alphabet, frontwards or backwards
- Standing on one leg
Officers additionally sometimes rely on what’s described as a “nystagmus” test, in which the suspect is asked to shift eye gaze from one side to the other while the officer shines a light source in his or her eyes. The belief is that the gaze of somebody who is intoxicated with alcohol or drugs would be jerky rather than clean.
The defenses to field sobriety tests are often the same as with officer observations. Medications and a sleep disorder might make it somewhat more tough to perform these tests. Many individuals also have physical impairments due to injuries – or just aging -making it difficult to do these tasks under ideal conditions.
Your lawyer may cross-examine the arresting officer at length whether or not the officer questioned you if you had physical impairments or there have been particular circumstances that wouldmake it tough to perform the tests. Your lawyer might also mention to the jury that lots of jury members could have similar difficulties performing the tests, for instance by asking the jury whether they could recite the alphabet backwards under the best of circumstances.
For help with a DUI Columbus Georgia, find a DUI lawyer Columbus Georgia.
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