101 Ways to Avoid an Orlando DUI Conviction! Part 2 of 10.
DUI arrests and DUI convictions can have serious consequences, both immediate and in the future. When people speak with me, they are most often looking for advice on how to avoid a DUI arrest or how to avoid a DUI arrest turning into a DUI conviction. 101 Ways to Avoid a Drunk Driving Conviction by William C. Head, Esq. and Reese I. Joye, Jr., Esq. is a great resource to both questions and will be featured in a 10 part blog series here on the FL DUI Group Blog. The second part features ways 11-20 to avoid an Orlando DUI conviction.
11. By proving that the defendant was not “in actual physical control” of the vehicle, the case can be won, since one of the elements of the alleged crime is missing.
12. With blood tests, the use of an alcohol laden swab on subject’s skin contaminates the puncture site and voids the test by the state.
13. Where state law requires it, failure of the police to advise the defendant of his right to a second, independent test as required by state law voids the state’s test.
14. In an “illegal per se” DUI case, proof (by use of retrograde extrapolation techniques) that the defendant was not above the state threshold level because he was still in the absorption stage at the time of the arrest, eliminates one of the elements of the per se DUI. A similar tactic can help where you are facing a “presumption” of intoxication threshold.
15. The police lacked probable cause to make the “stop”, so all tests and evidence gathered as part of the illegal arrest must be thrown out of court.
16. The use of medical or other expert testimony can prove that the defendant’s physiological system is “unusual” so that the state’s test results can be excluded or at least adjusted to an amount below the state’s threshold for the “presumption” of intoxication.
17. Where the state’s testing machine is subject to error of +/-0.01% this margin of error can be used to show that the required threshold (which is an element of the state’s case) is missing.
18. Where good reason exists to refuse the state’s test, such refusal generally will prevent the state from using a numerical BAC reading against you, thereby greatly reducing the chances of a conviction for DUI. However, an administrative suspension of driving privileges will be the consequence, in most states. In some states, such as New Jersey and Alaska, potential penalties for refusal are as bad as the penalties for DUI.
19. The failure of the arresting officer to follow through in giving the required implied consent warnings will cause the state’s BAC test results to be excluded from trial.
20. If the arresting officer misstates the required wording of the implied consent warnings, the state’s BAC test results will be excluded from trial, or the entire case may be dismissed.
Excerpted from the book, 101 Ways to Avoid a Drunk Driving Conviction by William C. Head, Esq. and Reese I. Joye, Jr., Esq.
Copyright 1991 by William C. Head and Reese I. Joye, Jr. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit, except with written permission, but may be freely distributed electronically provided that the entire file, including this notice, remains intact.
