Matt Pinsker is a criminal defense lawyer who often defends individuals charged with a DUI or driving under the influence. If you are convicted of a DUI, you may face stiff penalties, including having your license suspended, obtaining SR-22 auto insurance when you get your license back, paying a hefty fine, and possibly facing jail time, especially if you have a prior DUI conviction. Many criminal defense attorneys will raise defenses that may help get the charges against you dismissed, reduced, or raised reasonable doubt, so a judge or jury finds you not guilty. Read on as Mr. Pinsker lists some of the common defenses used for a DUI.
The Officer Did Not Have Probable Cause When They Pulled You Over
Matt Pinsker states that one of the most common defenses to a DUI is that the officer did not have probable cause to pull you over. The officer could not pull you over because you were leaving a bar. You must have committed an infraction, such as speeding, swerving, driving unsafely, or not having a registered vehicle. If an officer pulls you over without probable cause, the entire case against you must be dismissed.
The Breathalyzer or Blood Alcohol Test Was Flawed
Another common defense that a DUI defense attorney may use is contesting the breathalyzer or blood alcohol tests. If the breathalyzer was not properly calibrated before you blew into it, blood was not drawn within a specified period, or the blood was not sent to a state-approved testing facility, the results can be invalid. Once the results are invalid, it becomes very hard for a prosecutor to prove you were driving while intoxicated, which may force them to let you go with no charges.
You Were Not Operating the Motor Vehicle
Matt Pinsker explains that the final defense to DUI is that you were not operating the motor vehicle. Sometimes, people realize they are too drunk to drive and then go to their car to sleep it off. If this happens to you, you should always try to sleep in the back seat, as it minimizes the risk of being charged with a DUI. However, if you were in the driver’s seat, police may try to charge you with a DUI, especially if the keys were in or near the ignition. As such, a criminal defense attorney may argue that the police never saw you driving because you were sleeping and not operating the motor vehicle.
Being charged with a DUI does not mean that you are guilty. You are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and criminal defense attorneys like Matt Pinkser work hard to help their clients not be convicted of the crime they are charged with. If you are charged with a DUI in Virginia, you will want to reach out to a criminal defense attorney, such as Mr. Pinkser, as quickly as possible to start working on a defense for your case.
