FACING A CRIMINAL CHARGE?

A police officer must have reasonable suspicion to pull a driver over. If the police officer cannot explain why he or she reasonably suspected the driver had broken the law, the traffic stop may be declared unconstitutional and the DUI charged may be dismissed.

A police officer must have probable cause to arrest someone. If the police officer did not have sufficient evidence to merit probable cause, the arrest may be declared unconstitutional. The drunk driving charge may be dismissed.

First, field sobriety tests are voluntary. If a police officer forced a driver to take these tests, the accused individual's Fourth Amendment rights may have been violated and the test results may be thrown out. Furthermore, these tests must be administered properly. If, for example, the tests are conducted on uneven ground, they may be considered invalid.

Like all tools, there is a right way and a wrong way to use a breath test machine. If a police officer uses the machine incorrectly, the results may be thrown out. Additionally, mechanical issues may impact the accuracy of the results. For example, some machines are affected by temperature. If a machine is stored in the trunk on a cold day and not allowed to warm up before being used, the results may not be accurate and should be considered invalid.

Many everyday issues can lead to false positives on a breath test. For example, if a person burps after recently consuming alcohol and then takes a breath test, the results may show a higher blood alcohol content (BAC) than normal. If a person is running a fever when he or she takes the test, the results may also be skewed. An experienced lawyer will review the case to determine if any interfering factor was present and seek to have results thrown out.

While blood tests are typically conducted in a more controlled environment than breath tests, errors still happen. Was an alcohol swab used on the draw site? Was the sample handled correctly during the testing process? Any issue that could interfere with the accuracy of the results could lead to the results being considered invalid.

An enzymatic method is typically used for determining BAC in blood tests. However, this method may lead to inaccurately high readings that confuse serum alcohol, which may be produced by tissue trauma such as bruises, with ethyl alcohol. If there is reason to believe that such a factor interfered with the blood test, the results should be thrown out.

Occasionally, a person will be charged with DUI even though he or she was only caught sitting or sleeping in the vehicle. If the police officer did not personally witness the individual driving while intoxicated, the case may be dismissed. In such cases, the court must determine whether the evidence establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was either in actual physical control of the vehicle (keys in ignition or engine running) or driving.

The location of the crime dictates which courts will hear the case and which police officers can conduct the arrest. In some cases, if a police officer makes a DUI arrest outside of his or her jurisdiction, it may be used as part of a defense strategy. In Pennsylvania, the prosecution has a limited amount of time to try your case. If the commonwealth fails to prosecute your case during the allotted time frame, it can be dismissed under Rule 600 or Rule 1013 (applicable to Philadelphia Municipal Court cases).

Many people accused of drunk driving do not know that there may be programs available, particularly for first offenders, that can lead to a positive outcome, even if the evidence is strong. An experienced lawyer will know all available options.

If you have been accused of DUI, take action to ensure that it does not impact your life. Let John Della Rocca help you secure the results you need to move forward with your life.