Fight Against DUI Charges

Why You Need to Fight the Charges You Face

Make no mistake - DUI is a serious matter. Driving under the influence of alcohol is not merely a traffic violation, it is also a misdemeanor criminal charge which carries major consequences for your future. If this is the first time you have been arrested for drinking and driving, you are at risk of losing your driver's license for up to six months, as well as being forced to pay a $400 fine and serving between 48 hours and 30 days in jail. The penalties are increased for a repeat conviction or an arrest with an unusually high blood alcohol concentration, and if you are accused of causing an accident while driving drunk you could be sent to prison for up to 25 years. In addition to these penalties, you would additionally end up paying higher rates for car insurance, you may be required to install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle, and you would end up with a conviction on your criminal record which could make it impossible for you to find suitable employment.

Fortunately, there are many ways to effectively fight charges of DUI. Many people in your position make a serious mistake by giving up any hope of avoiding conviction, based on the fact that there is evidence that they were driving drunk. What they don't realize is that it is nearly always possible to reduce the penalties for a drunk driving conviction, and it is often possible to beat the charges outright. An attorney from the Law Office of James R. Snell, Jr., LLC is ready to meet with you to discuss the circumstances of your arrest and begin working on a strategy for defending your rights and protecting your driver's license.

DUI Defense Strategies

Many drinking and driving cases can be defeated by exploiting weaknesses in the evidence or mistakes made by law enforcement. For example, if the police officer cannot demonstrate that there was probable cause to pull you over and investigate you for DUI, then it may be possible to have the charges dismissed on the grounds that your Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure was violated. Similarly, the officer may have made mistakes in explaining or demonstrating the roadside field sobriety tests. If you took a breathalyzer test, we may be able to invalidate the test results by pointing to factors such as the effects of residual alcohol in your mouth or physiological conditions such as gastric reflux or diabetes. Even blood test results can sometimes be challenged by arguing that the test sample may have been contaminated or mistakenly switched with another person's sample.