Challenging your Hall County DUI

It is not uncommon for someone to wonder if you need to hire an attorney in a DUI case. After all, if you have been drinking in Hall County GA, and you were subsequently charged with a DUI, what could a Gainesville DUI attorney possibly do for you? The answer is plenty. An experienced Hall County DUI attorney can help assist in a number of ways if you have been charged with a DUI, and providing a strong defense is probably the best benefit because convictions carry tough sentences and long-term collateral consequences.

Among various defense strategies, there are two specific ways an attorney can challenge the State prosecutor with the intent to either dismiss the case in its entirety or settle the case with a plea deal that favors you. These challenges include a challenge to the traffic stop and a challenge of field sobriety tests and/or breath, blood, or urine tests. In some cases, the case may go to trial, and these same challenges can be used to weaken the State's case against you, aiming for an acquittal.

Challenging the Stop of Your Car

The constitution guarantees you have a right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure of your person, your papers, and your property. This means, practically speaking, there are limits on how and when the police can pull you over. A qualified DUI attorney will evaluate the stop of your car, looking to determine if the stop was legally valid. The attorney takes into consideration case law, Georgia Statutes, and the constitutions of both Georgia and the United States when making this determination.

Challenging Test Results

Field sobriety tests can be challenged successfully. These are un-scientific, subjective tests that must be administered in strict accordance with the rules. If not, the results can be throw out. Breath, blood, and urine tests also must be conducted, handled, carried out under strict rules and regulations.

Take, for example, a breath test. Even if you know you had been drinking on the night of the arrest, you probably don't know what your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was when you provided a sample. The breathalyzer that measures blood alcohol, just like all instruments, sometimes malfunctions. An experienced Hall County DUI attorney can review your test results, looking for anomalies that indicate a machine malfunction.

Further, the instrument must be properly maintained on a schedule. If maintenance isn't done, or if it isn't done properly, the test results may be unreliable. An experienced DUI attorney knows what data to request and how to review it to determine if the integrity of the resulting test may be challenged.

Finally, even if the machine operates as intended, and is properly maintained, there may be a basis to challenge the test result. For instance, high protein diets can lead to inaccurate readings. Other issues, such as whether the person has been hyperventilating in response to the arrest or used mouthwash or cough syrup recently can impact the test. Even radio frequencies may result in an inaccurate test reading.

If You or a Friend is Charged with a DUI

If you or a friend is charged with a DUI, you need a DUI lawyer. The Law Offices of Richard S. Lawson focuses exclusively on DUI and DUI-related law. This provides us with a wealth of knowledge and experience handling the unique challenges of DUI casework. Contact us today for a free case evaluation. We are happy to discuss the facts and circumstances of your case with you.