In deciding which defenses could be implemented in your driving while intoxicated (DWI) case, your lawyer will look at the evidence showed by the police and interview witnesses. Some common defenses observed in DWI cases include:

Driving Observation Defenses

The prosecutor always relies (sometimes exclusively) on the arresting police officer’s account about how exactly a DWI defendant was driving, like:

• Very slow-moving speeds
• Sporadic speeds (very fast, then very slow, for example)
• Moving from one side of a lane to the other
• Crossing the middle line of the highway
• Running a red light
• Hesitation in going through a green light

A first rate defense attorney will reason that there may be other explanations for these driving behaviors that don’t have anything related to being alcohol-impaired.

Behavior Observation Defenses

An officer may additionally testify as to a DWI suspect’s appearance and behavior when questioned, including:

• Unclear speech
• Bloodshot eyes
• Inappropriate joking or incoherent speech
• Stumbling or not being in position to walk very far
• Pupil enlargement

Defenses to these observations that don’t have anything related to being inebriated can sometimes include:

• Lack of sleep
• Allergies
• Contact lenses
• Stress due to personal circumstances
• Medications
• Foods recently ingested
• Nervousness over being stopped by police
• Physical impairments

Field Sobriety Test Defenses

When a policeman suspects you may be too intoxicated to drive, the police officer will almost certainly demand you to perform what are called “field sobriety tests.” These tests are formulated to calculate your physical and mental performance, and can include:

• Walking a straight line
• Walking backwards
• Reciting the alphabet, frontwards or backwards
• Standing on one leg

 

Officers also sometimes depend on what’s also known as a “nystagmus” test, in which the suspect is asked to shift eye gaze from one side to the other while the officer shines a light in his or her eyes. The idea is that the gaze of somebody who is intoxicated with alcohol or drugs can be jerky rather than smooth.

The defenses to field sobriety tests are often the same as with officer observations. Medications and sleep disorders could make it somewhat more hard to perform these checks. Many people have physical impairments brought on by injuries – or simply aging -that make it impossible to perform these tasks under ideal conditions.

Your lawyer may cross-examine the arresting officer at length whether or not the officer questioned you if you had physical impairments or there were particular circumstances that wouldmake it difficult to perform the tests. Your lawyer could also indicate to the jury that numerous jury members sometimes have similar difficulties performing the tests, such as by asking the jury if they could recite the alphabet backwards under the best of circumstances.

For help with a criminal defense Athens Georgia, contact an Athens GA DUI lawyer.