DUI Defender

How can you defend drunks? That question is posed to those of us specializing in this field more than any other. Lawyers who specialize in murder cases, where the evidence is usually much stronger, are not asked that question. It seems to be a given that a man who is accused of killing his wife is entitled to a strong defense, but not someone who is accused with less evidence.

People say if you drink, you drive, you lose; but that’s not the law. The law in every state of this union is that you CAN consume alcohol and drive, so long as you do so responsibly. So is it wrong for me to represent a person who is stopped for an expired registration and who only had one drink?

This happens on a regular basis and it is not until an attorney obtains the blood test results, usually not until AFTER THE FIRST COURT DATE, and presents it to the DA is the case dismissed as an “error”. Of course the citizen who did nothing wrong now has a record of the arrest to deal with, but no one cares about that, it seems.

Of course we can not forget that in all 50 states the mere arrest, without knowing the blood alcohol level now triggers an immediate suspension of a citizens driving privilege. It then requires an attorney to persuade the department of motor vehicles to return the citizen his or her license.

These are rare cases I can hear people say, but not as rare as you may think, and more importantly, since when is rarity a scale on which your rights depend?

But let’s look at more common inquiries which an attorney would make in these cases. Did you know that diabetes, hypoglycemia, Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disorder, high protein diets and other common medical conditions can cause a FALSE POSITIVE reading on today’s breath machines? I know if I print it here you won’t believe me, so use the web to search for yourself. I’ll wait.

Want to know why this happens; because breath machines DO NOT TEST FOR ALCOHOL. Instead they use light to look for certain chemical bonds between molecules which are found in alcohol, BUT WHICH ARE ALSO FOUND IN OTHER SUBSTANCES.

This was not disclosed by the machine manufacturers, but discovered by defense attorneys who represented these people or PAINTERS and others who use certain chemicals which show up as alcohol on the machines. That’s right, it turns out that people who use industrial solvents will show the alcohol breath profile of someone who drank HOURS after they leave work.

Maybe this kind of ‘hidden ball trick’ is why virtually all the manufacturers of breath machines have been adamant in opposing the release of the information on how the machines work. They also will not sell these machines to independent labs or to the defense.

NOW WHY IS IT THAT WE WILL SPEND MILLIONS ON VOTING MACHINE INSPECTIONS BUT DON’T CARE IF THE MACHINEs USED TO CONVICT PEOPLE MEET EVEN THAT STANDARD?

Now you see some of why I and others like me do what we do. The mere fact that a person is arrested is NOT proof they are guilty. A breath test is not always correct. Innocent people do end up in the system all the time.

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