Driving While Intoxicated Circumstances

To decide which defenses could apply in your driving while intoxicated (DWI) case, your lawyer will see all the evidence showed by the law enforcement agency and meet with and talk to witnesses. Some common defenses seen in DWI cases include:

Driving Observation Defenses

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

• Very slow-moving speeds
• Uneven speeds (very fast, then very slow, for example)
• Weaving from one side of the lane to the other
• Traversing the center line of the highway
• Racing through a red light
• Hesitation in going through a green light

A decent defense attorney will reason that there may be other reasons for these driving behaviors that do not have anything to do with being alcohol-impaired.

Behavior Observation Defenses

An officer can also testify about a DWI suspect’s appearance and behavior when questioned, including:

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

Defenses against these observations that do not have anything to do with being intoxicated may 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 might be too drunk to drive, the policeman will in all probability ask you to do what are called “field sobriety tests.” These tests are intended to assess 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 additionally sometimes depend upon 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 hypothesis is that the gaze of the person who is inebriated with alcohol or drugs may be jerky rather than even.

The defenses to field sobriety tests are often the same as with officer observations. Medications and insomnia might make it considerably more difficult to perform these tests. Lots of people also have physical impairments due to injuries – or just aging -that make it impossible to perform these tasks under ideal conditions.

Your lawyer may cross-examine the arresting officer in detail whether or not the officer questioned you if you had physical impairments or there have been particular circumstances that couldmake it challenging to perform the tests. Your lawyer might also explain to the jury that numerous jury members often have similar difficulties performing the tests, like by asking the jury if they could recite the alphabet backwards under the best of circumstances.

For help with a Savannah GA DUI, consult with a Savannah Georgia criminal defense attorney.