DUI – Probable Cause and Reasonable Suspicion

As you may know, there are many ways to defend against a DUI charge. I like to hit the ground running when it comes to defending such a charge. So here’s part of my approach.

Whenever one of my clients comes to me with an arrest affidavit for a DUI, one of the first things I look for is the reason the person was stopped in the first place. Maybe you were stopped unlawfully? An example of this would be if the officer pulls you over because he sees that the registered owner of the vehicle has a suspended license. Under certain circumstances, that stop might be bad. If it is, everything that the cop learns or observes after that point is inadmissible in court. If the Judge rules that the stop is no good, congratulations! You just won your DUI!

The next thing I look at is whether the detention was good. If the officer keeps you there longer than necessary or for some other prolonged reason, that might also be grounds to throw the case out! Every case is different, of course.

Finally, even if the stop and the detention are both legal the arrest may not be. If we can show that based on the totality of the circumstances you should not have been arrested, you may be able to win your case.

Police need reasonable suspicion to stop your vehicle. If they want to arrest you, they will need much more than that – namely, they will need probable cause. The cop in the field will have to make those calls and your lawyer can read and review his findings and make arguments to the Judge if you think the cop made the wrong decisions.

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