It is always advisable

to consult with an experienced DUI attorney before making any decisions on how to proceed.  Navigating the criminal courts can be a daunting task for the layman not to mention the issues involving license suspension and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

When we take on a new DUI case, the Law Firm of Richard McGuire always looks at the over-all picture of the DUI arrest.  First we look at the stop.  Did the officer have probable cause to stop the driver?  Often times the arresting officer will pull someone over based on mere hunch or conjecture.  This is illegal under the law. Stopping someone because they pulled out of the parking lot of an establishment serving alcohol at 1:30 in the morning is not probable cause.  Neither is pulling someone over for driving slow on the freeway.  These are just two examples of DUI cases that our law firm has been able to get dismissed.

The second thing to look at is how well did the arrestee do on the field sobriety tests?  Often times an officer will make a subjective determination that the driver didn’t “pass” the balance tests that were administered on scene.  The grading system is very subjective and when asked on cross-examination any truthful officer will have to admit that there is no clear passing score.  As such the sobriety tests are very subjective and unreliable.  Often times the officer does not have legal justification to make an arrest even if the original stop was based on probable cause.

Finally we look at the blood alcohol level at the time of driving.  This can be a complicated issue based on rising blood alcohol defense.  When the officer actually administers the test, the blood alcohol is not an accurate representation of what the level was at the time of driving because the test is taken several minutes if not close to an hour later.  Because the blood alcohol level in never static and always rising or falling it can often be established in court that while the defendant tested at over .08 on the chemical test, at the time of driving he was actually well under the legal limit. This defense has led to numerous dismissals and not guilty verdicts.

For a Free Initial Consultation call (714) 337-9331