Georgia DUI Defenses: The Traffic Stop

Many times clients will ask me if there's even a possibility of winning their DUI case especially when they have tested above .08 with the breath test. There are many potential DUI defenses that can be used regardless of how hopeless your DUI arrest may feel. It is possible for a Georgia DUI lawyer to convince the state of Georgia to reduce your case simply by showing that mistakes were made in your particular case.

A lesser charge will not be given to you just because you made a bad decision or because you are a good person or because it's your first DUI in Georgia. The best way to have your charges lessened or dropped is if you have a Georgia DUI Attorney representing you. It is also extremely important to have a lawyer who is familiar with the city or county in which you were arrested.

Georgia DUI defense can be complicated and overwhelming. Georgia DUI law is not for a general practitioner who occasionally handles DUI cases. Your case should be handled by Georgia DUI lawyers who know their business.

In today's post, I would like to focus on some of the common DUI defenses in Georgia used when challenging the routine traffic stop that resulted in a DUI charge.

The majority of the time, in DUI cases, the process starts with a routine traffic stop. In order for there to be justification for a routine traffic stop, a police officer must have probable cause supporting his or her stopping of your vehicle. If there is no probable cause, then the police will not be able to prosecute the case. There are few common offenses that give police officers a reason to to pull you over.

First, let's look at the charge of failure to maintain lane in Georgia. Failure to maintain lane can be anything from as little as hitting the fog line with one of your tires to as drastic as weaving across multiple lanes of traffic. One of the best defenses to a failure to maintain lane charge is that legally you are allowed to change your lane if you first ascertain that it was safe to actually do so.

Next, let's look at the offense of improper lane change in Georgia. An improper lane change charge usually happens when you change lanes without using a turn signal. The best defense to an improper lane change charge is that Georgia law does not actually require the use of a turn signal unless there is another vehicle approaching from the rear or from the front of your vehicle.

Finally, let's look at what happens when an officer expands the scope of his or her stop. If an officer continues to detain you after wrapping up the actual traffic stop, there is a possibility that the officer has illegally exceeded the scope of the stop itself. This happens when an officer continues to interrogate you or asks for your consent to search you or your vehicle without any reasonable suspicion of any wrongdoing on your part. The defense is actually pointing out that the officer exceeded the scope of the original traffic stop investigation. If this defense is used correctly and it is shown that the officer exceeded the scope of the stop, anything found in any subsequent investigation or search should actually be suppressed and therefore, cannot be used as evidence against you.

There are many other ways to challenge and defend against a DUI in Georgia including challenging the field sobriety tests, implied consent, roadblocks, etc.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a DUI in Georgia, contact our offices today.