If you’ve been arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Houston, you will probably be facing a confusing and daunting legal process. Though a conviction on DWI charges could result in fines, license suspension and possibly jail, it doesn’t necessarily mean an automatic loss.
The best DWI lawyer in Houston can use a variety of defenses to challenge the prosecutor’s case and to get the charges against you reduced or dismissed.
Article Summary
- Challenging the Traffic Stop
- Questioning the Accuracy of Field Sobriety Tests
- Disputing Breathalyzer Test Results
- Contesting Blood Test Results
- Proving the Arresting Officer’s Conduct Was Improper
- Arguing Lack of Probable Cause for Arrest
- Raising Doubts About the Timing of the BAC Test
- Highlighting Alternate Explanations for Impairment
- Final Defenses Used by DWI Lawyers
Challenging the Traffic Stop
One relates to the lawfulness of the traffic stop. The Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution precludes unreasonable searches and seizures, meaning that a police officer must have a good reason to pull you over, traditionally called ‘reasonable suspicion’.
Swerving between lanes or a broken taillight could be examples. If the officer didn’t have the right to pull you over in the first place, then any subsequent evidence, such as a breathalyser result or a failed field sobriety test, will probably not be allowed in evidence, which can sometimes lead to your DWI charges being dismissed.
Questioning the Accuracy of Field Sobriety Tests
This is the problem with field sobriety tests (FSTs) used by police officers to determine whether or not a driver is under the influence of alcohol or some drug. These are – incredible as it may seem – subjective assessments made by the officer.Uneven pavement and uneven shoulders, lack of adequate lighting, inclement weather all of these can influence the performance of the FSTs.
And the driver’s physical condition, such as being in the early stages of a bad cold, being disabled or arthritic, or having been in a car crash that day, can affect performance. If the FSTs contaminates your case and makes the charge against you less credible, your attorney can attack it.
Disputing Breathalyzer Test Results
Breathalyzer tests are the most common way police in the United States measure a driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC). The results of such tests can be called into question for a variety of reasons.
Breathalyzers must be regularly calibrated to ensure they continue to give reliable results. If you lawyer can show that the device used in your arrest was never calibrated at the right intervals or had a history of failures, they can argue that your BAC results are inaccurate.
Another reason might have to do with the fact that some medical conditions, such as acid reflux or diabetes, could lead to false elevations on breathalysers. Something as simple as using mouthwash or a breath freshener containing alcohol could also give you a falsely high reading.
Contesting Blood Test Results
Some DWI cases involve blood tests which are taken to learn either the level of BAC or if or how many drugs are in a driver’s system. Blood tests usually have a ‘good’ reputation because testing substances in blood is taken to be more accurate than testing the air a driver breathes, it is, however, not infallible.
The process for drawing, labelling and storing blood as well as analysing the results of blood tests is strictly controlled and if anything goes wrong blood samples can become contaminated, or the results will be in dispute.
Look into whether there was a valid chain of custody for the blood sample from the time it was drawn to the time it was tested in the lab. If the chain of custody was broken, if there was a long delay in testing, then the lawyer can argue that the results were unreliable and should not be admitted into evidence.
Proving the Arresting Officer’s Conduct Was Improper
The actions of the arresting officer may also be important to your DWI defense. Police officers are required to follow certain protocols when they stop the car and arrest a driver for a DWI, such as reading your Miranda rights when you are put under arrest.
If an officer doesn’t follow the rules, then your lawyer may claim that your rights were violated, and therefore the evidence against you could be suppressed or your case thrown out completely.
For example, if you were unaware of your right to remain silent or your right to an attorney, any statements you made during said arrest can be excluded from your court proceedings. Likewise, if an officer used excessive force or coercion to procure evidence, align your arguments by filing a motion to exclude such evidence.
Arguing Lack of Probable Cause for Arrest
And just as probable cause is required before the police can conduct a search of your person or your car, to make an arrest for DWI the officer must have probable cause which means evidence to believe that you were driving while intoxicated.
If there’s little or no evidence of DWI collected at the side of the road (or if the officer relied on a hunch or simply his or her experience with similar cases), the lawyer could argue that there was no probable cause to arrest. And without probable cause for the arrest, it is unlawful, and the charge could be dismissed.
Raising Doubts About the Timing of the BAC Test
This is true especially in cases where you were initially pulled over and tested for your BAC some time after you finished driving. Alcohol takes time to reach your bloodstream, so your BAC might have been increasing after you stopped drinking.
If enough time elapsed between when you were driving and when your BAC was taken, your lawyer could argue that the results don’t tell us what your BAC was when you were driving. This is known as the ‘rising blood alcohol’ defence. This defence can be very powerful in cases in which the BAC is slightly over the legal limit.
Highlighting Alternate Explanations for Impairment
In other instances, apparent impairment detected by the officer might have other explanations’differing from driving intoxication’ The legal team will find these alternative explanations and argue them to the court as alternative explanations for why you were acting the way you did.
Final Defenses Used by DWI Lawyers
There are lots of things that might impact your arrest, which makes it even more important for you to find the best DWI lawyer Houston has to offer. You need an attorney who is a master at defending DWIs, who knows Houston law, and who can e analyses your arrest from start to finish to create for your case.
Don’t leave your fate to the chance of the prosecutor having less than perfect evidence – hire an attorney who can beat the State’s case on multiple fronts. With the right DWI lawyer Houston, you can be confident that your chances of walking away from your arrest with reduced or dismissed charges are vastly improved.
