Five Ways to Defend Against a DUI in Georgia

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I would like to spend today's post describing some of the most useful Georgia DUI Defenses. The list of five defenses below depend on different parts of a DUI arrest.

Defending against the initial traffic stop:

The majority of DUI arrests begin with a routine traffic stop. The stop can be the result of an alleged failure to maintain lane in Georgia or other supposed related offense. Therefore, a successful defense to the initial traffic violation can result in the collapse of the probable cause supporting the stop of the accused individual's vehicle. This leads to a successful defense of the DUI charge as well. Remember - without probable cause, the police cannot prosecute your case.

Defending against whether or not the accused individual was driving:

There are also cases in which there was no traffic violation. In these cases, the arresting officer may not have actually seen the individual drive. The state of Georgia will have to prove that the accused individual had been in both actual and physical control of a moving vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs in any DUI case.  This may be difficult if the officer first encounters the individual on the side of the road or sleeping in a parked vehicle in a lot. 

Defending against the validity of the field sobriety tests

Typically, the strongest evidence used to support the officer's belief that an individual was less safe to drive is his or performance on Georgia Field Sobriety Tests. No one should ever assume that an officer actually administered the field sobriety tests correctly. If the field sobriety tests are successfully challenged, the judge may rule that performance on the tests is inadmissible and cannot be used as evidence against that individual at trial.

Defending against the validity of the breath test:

In Georgia, the breath-testing machine, the Intoxilyzer, must be tested every 90 days to ensure that it's up to par. There are also other requirements for properly maintaining and operating the machine. An investigation can reveal whether the machine had a properly dedicated power source, the operator was properly trained and certified to use the machine, that the mandatory pre-tests were conducted, and whether the machine had been properly serviced. If there are issues with any of the results of the investigation, it could result in the judge ruling that the breath test results are inadmissible.

Defending against the validity of the blood test:

Blood tests can be challenged for several reasons. There is a high potential for: error during collection and testing, machine malfunction, variations in results when blood plasma is tested rather than whole blood, error in chain of custody, contamination, or tampering. Again, if any of these issues are found, then it could result in the inadmissibility of the blood test results.

Practice Note

There are many other DUI Defenses in Georgia. Each defense is dependent on the case and the circumstances surrounding the case. If you or a loved one has been arrested for DUI in Georgia, contact our offices today.