How To Understand If Your DUI Arrest Was Lawful
The peace officers in this country do a courageous and wonderful job of protecting us, and so they certainly deserve our gratitude and appreciation. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not subject to human error, or that they’re always right. If you have been arrested for DUI or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs while in the state of California, you’re likely confused and scared. If you are arrested, it is usually life altering, and also the loss of freedom can be a very tough concept to grasp. Hiring a Sacramento DUI lawyer to examine your arrest is important, because it is sometimes the case that the DUI arrest was unlawfully executed. Let’s look at DUI arrests in California a bit more closely, so you can compare your arrest to what should/should not occur.
Criminal Process of DUI
If you are accused of DUI, the initial criminal process begins each time a field sobriety test is administered, or if perhaps a police officer thinks that there is probable cause to arrest you for DUI. Generally, whenever a DUI lawyer is attempting to determine if a DUI arrest was lawful, then your stop itself will often be called into question. The law enforcement officer that stops you will need to have reason to do this, or he may be violating your civil rights. An arrest for driving under the influence can happen whenever:
- A police officer observes you committing the crime of driving while impaired. When an officer of the law witnesses you driving in a suspicious manner, he’s got a right to pull you over and to administer tests to determine if you’re sober or not. For instance, if you are driving erratically, and an officer observes your erratic driving, he then can pull you over. You can be arrested if he has administered a breathalyzer test and standard field sobriety tests and determines that you are above the legal limit to be driving.
- A law enforcement officer has any reason to think you have committed the crime of driving while impaired. If this is the circumstance, then the officer must have legal justification and probable grounds for the DUI arrest. He is permitted to take you into custody for DUI if there are actually any strong indicators that you’ve been driving under the influence. A good example will be if you are stopped because you are driving erratically and the officer suspects DUI, he then notices the smell of liquor on your breath and an empty liquor bottle on the seat beside you. Every one of these observations give the officer reason to request that you take field sobriety tests. Based on the way you perform the tests, the officer very well may have probable cause for the opinion that you’ve been driving drunk, and he or she may arrest you.
Absent probable cause or sufficient evidence, your DUI arrest may very well be unlawful. If you were pulled over for “no good reason”, then you may have a basis to get the charge thrown out, even if you were higher than the legal limit. Make contact with your Sacramento DUI attorney to find out what your defenses are against an unlawful DUI stop.
Do you need to find a great Sacramento criminal attorney? Check out the Law Offices of Brianne Doyle or call 916-806-6400. Brianne Doyle is a skilled Sacramento criminal defense lawyer and can give you the legal representation you need.