Being pulled over by a law enforcement official while driving can be an intimidating experience, especially if you have been drinking. When a
Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer takes a DUI case, they usually have to review what went wrong during a DUI stop.
While it is not a crime to have a few drinks and then eventually drive yourself home, it is a criminal offense to drive while still under the influence of alcohol or while intoxicated. If you have been stopped on suspicion of driving under the influence, especially of alcohol, here are 5 things
Los Angeles DUI defense lawyers would want you to keep in mind:
1. TheLos Angeles officer pulling you over must have a reasonable suspicion of a crime being committed. The Fourth Amendment to our Constitution makes it illegal for law enforcement officials to pull people over for no reason at all. In the case of
DUI, the officer must have seen you driving erratically or dangerously before he or she pulls you over. If there is no evidence of impairment, then the officer made an unlawful stop.
2. The Los Angeles law enforcement officer must have a reasonable suspicion of you being intoxicated to charge you with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Make sure that all your movements are precise and controlled. When asked for your driver's license , proof of insurance and vehicle registration, control your nerves and do not fumble around looking for them. Doing so may make you appear intoxicated or otherwise incapacitated.
3. The officer who pulled you over may perform a battery of test known as Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs) to determine if you are impaired or intoxicated. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has developed specific guidelines as to how these tests are to be administered, and if they are not administered correctly, FST results may not be admissible evidence in a court hearing against you. Many law enforcement vehicles have a dashboard-mounted video camera that will record you interaction with the officer. Bear in mind that many FSTs results are also highly subjective in nature. Balance and memory, which are both often tested as indicators of sobriety, can be impaired by things other than alcohol such as being tired or ill.
4. Breath analysis machines can often give inaccurate readings. Many breath analysis machines must be recalibrated often for them to function correctly. They are also, at best, an estimate of the level of alcohol in your bloodstream. The most accurate way to determine your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is with a blood test. You may politely decline a breath analysis test and request a blood test if you choose.
5. Be polite and calm! Many, many times an officer may decide to give you a pass if you are polite and do not appear to be intoxicated. Being silly, loud, belligerent, rude or extremely nervous will only make the officer more suspicious.
Take notes on what happens when you have been pulled over by a law enforcement official. Many cases are lost and won in the details. Law enforcement officials have very specific guidelines as to how they can charge you with
DUI and what kind of evidence they can use against you in court. An experienced
Los Angeles DUI defense attorney will fight for the best possible results.
The Los Angeles DUI Defense Lawyers at Kestenbaum Eisner & Gorin LLP understand firsthand the problems of proof prosecutors frequently encounter in proving DUI charges, because they have personal experience prosecuting DUI cases as former lawyers for the Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney and the Office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney.