Drinking and driving is the result of extremely poor decision-making and leads to thousands of injuries and deaths each year. That is why law enforcement takes drunk-driving very seriously, and why the courts are more than willing to hand down tough sentences against drivers who get behind the wheel after drinking. And that should come as a relief to the millions of non-intoxicated drivers, passengers and pedestrians out there whose lives are put at risk every day.
Generally, if an individual is pulled over for suspicion of drunk-driving and a breath and/or blood test confirms that he or she was intoxicated, a conviction is virtually certain. That driver can expect possible jail time or probation, mandatory community service, a suspended driver’s license, and various other penalties, all of which increase with each subsequent conviction. Of course, the personal and professional consequences could be just as serious, and in some ways, worse.
However, it is does not always follow that the results of a blood or breath test or other strong evidence will lead inevitably to a conviction. Drunk driving is a crime, and the police and law enforcement must strictly follow proper criminal procedures from before a driver is pulled over, through processing, to when he or she is eventually released. Any irregular or improper action could undermine an otherwise overwhelming DUI case against a drunk driver.
For example, an attorney defending an accused drunk driver could impeach the credibility of the test(s) that were used to measure his or her client’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Breathalyzers require careful maintenance to ensure their accuracy, and a defense attorney could call into question a police department’s methods of calibrating those devices.
An improperly maintained or faulty breathalyzer could yield unreliable results. A defense attorney might also be able to show that the police did not have probable cause to pull over a driver in the first place, and any evidence gathered after the stop would be inadmissible in court. If the police fail to advise the driver of his or her rights with respect to testing and other DUI-specific matters, the case could be thrown out. Generally speaking, law enforcement must follow the procedures established in their jurisdiction for stopping drunk drivers to the letter of the law; anything less could potentially allow a drunk driver to walk free.
That is what happened to Jose Matilde Morales of Lewis County, Washington in 2004. Morales was pulled over for a drunk driving-related accident that he caused when he rolled through a stop sign, hit another car, and kept going. As stated by The Seattle Times, the prosecution could not prove that Morales was advised in Spanish – as required by law – of his right to an independent blood test to measure his BAC, or that even if he did receive the warning, that he understood it.
His conviction for drunk driving was thrown out by the Washington Supreme Court (he was also convicted of reckless driving and hit-and-run, which were presumably unaffected by the Court’s ruling). The Court emphasized that “the right to an independent blood test is an important part of a defendant’s ability to defend himself at trial.” The bottom line of this and other similar cases is that the legal system will not tolerate improper procedures on the part of police and law enforcement when it comes to drunk-driving (and other crimes, for that matter).
If you have been arrested for DUI and are facing a possible trial, contact an Orange County DUI lawyer right away. A qualified Orange County DUI lawyer can study the facts of your case and see whether there are any weaknesses in the prosecution’s case against you. A charge of drunk driving does not mean a conviction is unavoidable. Although nothing can be guaranteed, an Orange County DUI lawyer with experience in this area of the law can advise you of your legal options so that you can determine what the best course of action is as your case moves forward.
