In order to understand what a DUI defense lawyer can do for you in terms of evidence, it is important to understand what the prosecutions evidence can do to you. Often it is the smallest piece of evidence that can turn a jury or even the judge into convicting you for a DUI. A lawyer who represents those who are charged with a DUI knows what to look for in a case that is brought against you. This is why it is important to hire a Georgia DUI defense lawyer to handle gathering evidence for your case.
Types of Prosecutorial Evidence
In a DUI case that is brought against you, the prosecution is going to use as much evidence as they possibly can to convict you of the offense. In order to understand their tactics, you need to understand how they gather and use evidence in these types of cases.
Direct Evidence
Direct evidence is evidentiary proof of something. In a DUI case that could be eyewitness accounts, a chemical test, and a breathalyzer test. These are types of direct evidence that the prosecution can use in a DUI case. If a person witnesses rain pouring from the sky, that is direct evidence that it is raining outside.
Direct evidence can be hard to have thrown out, but a good DUI attorney will find ways around the direct evidence presented to instill doubt in its validity.
Circumstantial Evidence
Something that is factual can also be proven by reasoning. When using circumstantial evidence in a DUI case, reason and common sense must be used in the proven circumstances. Going back to the rain example, if a person wakes up in the morning to flooding, they can infer that it rained overnight. The flooding would be enough evidence to support that it rained. Nobody would have had to witness the rain to prove it because the circumstantial evidence supports it.
The state of Georgia allows a jury to be swayed using circumstantial evidence to prove innocence or guilt. In order to solely convict on circumstantial evidence, they must exclude any other reasonable theory other than the accused is guilty.
Using the Evidence
The Official Code of Georgia Annotated states that the purpose of the rules of evidence is for the discovery of truth. It shall be construed to make sure there is fairness, eliminate undue delay, and promote the growth of the law that in the end the truth may be ascertained and justly determined.
Understand that not all evidence can be considered admissible in court. The purpose of a DUI defense lawyer examining the evidence of the prosecution and gathering the evidence for your defense is to discredit the prosecution’s case against you.
DUI lawyers in the state of Georgia are educated on what evidence to get thrown out before the trial ever begins. This is only one of the reasons that hiring a lawyer is important in these types of cases.
Your lawyer can also assess the evidence that is brought against you. If they do not feel like there is enough evidence to convict you of the DUI charge, they may recommend that you take it to trial or negotiate with the prosecution to get the charges dropped.
If they feel like the evidence is damaging to your defense, they will advise you that negotiating a plea deal may be in your best interest. A lot of times these cases don’t go to trial because of the negotiations between the defense and prosecution. There is a possibility that charges could be reduced to a lesser charge.
Common Defenses for DUI Charges
It is still possible to beat a DUI conviction with the help of a skilled defense lawyer. There are ways of getting damaging evidence thrown out because of how it was handled or wasn’t handled.
If there is no proper proof of the breathalyzer being calibrated recently, your lawyer could argue that the breathalyzer as evidence is not admissible due to possible miscalculation on the part of the machine. If there was no chemical test done at the time of the arrest, there is nothing to back up the speculation that you were behind the wheel drunk.
Challenging the initial traffic stop is also a popular defense in DUI cases. If there was never a reason for the cop to pull you over that can be proven, then the tests administered after that are not admissible. The same goes for the reading of the Miranda Rights. If they were not executed correctly, they cannot be upheld in a court of law.
Lean on Your DUI Defense Lawyer
Your lawyer is a lawyer because they are good at what they do. When it comes to fighting a DUI charge, the best thing you can do is cooperate with their needs and lean on them to fight for you. If you let yourself trust an Athens DUI defense law firm on your defense case, you can be assured you will get the best and thorough treatment.