A person charged with DUI has options when it’s time to mount a defense. While affirmative defenses are used in rare circumstances, even when the charge is supported by evidence, it is more common to defend against these charges by questioning the officer’s observations or challenging the evidence’s integrity. DUI laws differ by jurisdiction and every case’s facts are different, and it is usually helpful to consult a Drunk Driving lawyer in Beaver Dam WI. Read on to learn more about defenses to DUI charges.
Necessity
When a person has to drive to stop something even worse from happening, it may be used as a defense. However, the person must prove that they had no other choice and that the ‘greater evil’ they sought to prevent was more harmful than the potential effects of a DUI.
Entrapment
When a police officer encourages a person to become drunk or to drive while intoxicated, it is regarded as entrapment. The defendant and his or her attorney must prove that the person would not have driven drunk if not for the officer’s entrapping behavior.
Accuracy and Administration of Field Sobriety Tests
An arrest can be ruled inadmissible if it was based on incorrectly administered tests or incorrect results. Of the three commonly used field sobriety tests, the horizontal gaze test, which detects erratic eye movements associated with intoxication, is frequently and successfully challenged.
Accuracy and Administration of Breathalyzer Testing
A Drunk Driving lawyer in Beaver Dam WI may question the administration of the on-scene breathalyzer test, the officer’s training to administer the test, or intervening factors on the client’s part. Additionally, the defense can question whether the breathalyzer was properly maintained and calibrated.
Rising BAC
In this defense, the lawyer claims that the client’s BAC was under the legal limit while driving, but that it increased in the time between the stop and the breathalyzer test. This can happen when alcohol has not yet been absorbed by the driver’s system and there’s a prolonged delay between the stop and the breath test.
Talk to an Attorney at No Charge
Even if a person believes they may have been inebriated when they were arrested, they still deserve a proper defense. To protect one’s rights and achieve the best possible outcome, the defendant should call a DUI lawyer for a free evaluation. Visit or call QBS Law S.C. to find out about possible defenses.
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