Whenever you face some penalties because you broke some road laws, everyone knows that one of the safest ways to deal with these kinds of issues is to hire a professional legal counsel (some people call them DWI guy). But some people don’t have the financial capabilities to hire a licensed private attorney or they don’t have the time to look for one.
That is where they need to pay penalties sustained when the authorities apprehend them for driving under the influence. Of course, it is not recommended that the defendants go and face these charges on their own and without the help of any legal representation. But if there is no other way, then you have to be very careful. In this article, we listed some helpful information on how to deal with these kinds of situations.
No probable cause for any types of stops
The police officer or any law enforcement authority should have a probable legal cause to stop any vehicle, detain or arrest any person for DWI or DUI. If there is no probable legitimate cause, any evidence that is obtained during the arrest can be considered as non-usable and the case can be dismissed.
The arresting officer should have a reasonable belief or suspicion that the person they are arresting is engaged in any criminal activity before they can stop their car and conduct a driving while intoxicated investigation and arrest. The reasonable suspicion is a standard protocol known as probable cause.
If the arresting officer doesn’t have a probable legal cause before engaging in one of the stages, all the evidence that is obtained during the illegal procedure will be all for nothing. It means that the prosecution can’t use the evidence against the defendant.
Unreliable and faulty breath tests
The breath tests that are used to catch drunk drivers have a lot of flaws. The tests are subject to a lot of different problems including:
- Improper use of a breath test by law enforcement.
- Conditions like GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease.
- Malfunction of the instruments.
- Failure to look or observe the arrested person before conducting the test.
The breath test is one of the most common ways to know the defendant’s Blood Alcohol Concentration or BAC, but it’s not always accurate since the test does not directly measure how much alcohol is in the blood. It measures how much alcohol is present in your breath and converts it to know the amount of alcohol present in the blood.
Because of this, the breath test for driving under the influence is vulnerable to a different kind of outside factor that can generate a false high Blood Alcohol Concentration reading. Click here to know everything about breath analyzer test.
Alcohol in the mouth
Instruments for DWI breath test are designed to catch a sample of breath from the deep lung tissue. It is also known as the “alveolar air.” A residue from alcohol can stay in the mouth for different reasons:
- Dental work can trap amounts of alcohol or alcohol-soaked food in the teeth.
- When you regurgitate or burped.
- When the person is suffering from heartburn, acid reflux or GERD.
The instruments for breath test like breath analyzers can capture alcohol that is trapped in the mouth instead of catching alveolar air. Because of this, alcohol in the mouth can trigger a false Blood Alcohol Concentration result
Medical conditions
Medical conditions like GERD or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, heartburn or acid reflux can contaminate the breath test result. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD, heartburn and acid reflux are all medical disorder that can create mouth alcohol situations.
It is because the conditions will produce a flow of acid that comes from the stomach that goes into the mouth. When this situation occurs during a spot random breath test, the alcohol that travels from the stomach to the mouth disguised as deep lung air that breath analyzers are intended to measure. Because of this, acid reflux, heartburn or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease can cause a false Blood Alcohol Concentration result
If you want to know if alcohol is associated with GERD, visit https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2880354.
Misconduct from the arresting officers
Even if you are drunken driving, misconduct from police and other law enforcement that arrested you can knock out all your DWI or DUI charges. If you can prove that the arresting officers did not follow proper protocol, or they showed any signs of misconduct, the charges may be dismissed. It is applicable even if the defendant is drunk as a fish. It is because law enforcement should follow the proper protocol in any kinds of arrest, even checking a drunk driver.
