According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 1.5 million drivers are arrested for DUI in any given year. As a result, you can expect several DWI charges being made daily all over the US. It may seem like a small problem, but this is a serious case that causes thousands of DUI related accidents every year. If arrested driving while intoxicated, you will be put in jail till you can post bail and start the legal process of getting an innocent verdict or having the charges dropped. So as not to bargain with your life, it is best that you hire the best DWI attorney Athens, Georgia that will help acquit you.
How Often Do DUIs Go To Court?
As much as there are so many DUI arrests in the country, very few of them actually go to trial. In some states, less than 2% of the arrests made make it to court.
The reason why this is the case is that many find it easier to get a plea deal with the prosecution as opposed to waiting the long trial process. This is especially the case for those that are guilty and haven’t hired a good DWI attorney to defend them.
If you get a public defender, it is likely that he will advise you to take the deal and plead guilty in exchange; you get a lesser punishment which is often in form of penalties. You can choose to take the deal, but an experienced Athens, Georgia lawyer will work to get you in court and prove that you are innocent.
If you are innocent but didn’t have a chemical test done to prove it, you should talk to your attorney to ensure that they either have the charges dropped or you go to trial. With a dedicated DWI lawyer Athens, Georgia by your side, you can fight and win the case, so you get no penalties or jail time.
How to Win a DWI Case in Court
There are many ways that you can prove your innocence even when you failed the blood alcohol levels. Your attorney will guide the process, but these are a few ways you can approach the case to win it.
No Probable Cause
Constitutionally, the police must have a probable cause so as to make the driver stop over. This means that he must have some suspicion and a cause for that suspicion before stopping you over and if he cannot explain this, then it becomes unconstitutional. So if you weren’t breaking any traffic laws at the time when you were asked to pull over, it would be considered unconstitutional hence leading to a dismissal of the case.
Illegal Arrest
You may have been arrested and charged with a DUI simply for having alcohol breath, which is not sufficient evidence to warrant the arrest. You can argue that the police officer didn’t have any proof to arrest you at the time making it unconstitutional, which will allow your DWI lawyer to ask that your DUI case is dismissed immediately.
Faulty Breathalyzer Equipment
Your lawyer can argue that the equipment used to carry out the breath test was not working properly which would make the results untrue. The machine may have had some issues that may have led to a wrong result making the test invalid. It is possible that the test was not done correctly and with enough evidence, you can have the case thrown out for lack of sufficient evidence.
Incorrect Blood Test Results
The chemical test uses an enzymatic method to test the levels of alcohol in the blood. However, the test may give a wrong result if one has some form of tissue injury such as a bruise. This is because it may read the serum alcohol that is usually released by tissues and show it as ethyl. If you had a bruise at the time of the arrest and blood test, this argument might lead to an acquittal.
Area of Jurisdiction
A police officer is only required to operate within their jurisdiction. If you were arrested by a police officer out of their area of jurisdiction, a DWI lawyer can argue that the arrest wasn’t right which may help you get the charges dropped.
Whether or not you were really intoxicated at the time of the arrest is not as important as hiring an experienced DWI attorney to help with your case. Your DWI attorney Athens, Georgia will come up with a defense to argue the case, which may mean that it is dismissed or you get an innocent verdict.