To decide which defenses could be implemented in your driving while intoxicated (DWI) case, your lawyer will look at all the evidence given by the police and meet with and talk to witnesses. Some common defenses noticed in DWI cases include:

Driving Observation Defenses

The prosecutor always relies (sometimes exclusively) on the arresting police officer’s testimony about how a DWI defendant was driving a vehicle, such as:

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

A first rate defense attorney will argue that there are many different explanations for these driving behaviors that won’t have anything related to being alcohol-impaired.

Behavior Observation Defenses

An officer may also testify as to a DWI suspect’s appearance and behavior when questioned, including:

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

Defenses to these observations that don’t have anything related to being drunk might 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 may be too inebriated to drive, the police officer will almost certainly ask you to carry out what are called “field sobriety tests.” These tests are created to analyse your physical and mental performance, and include:

• Walking a straight line
• Walking backwards
• Reciting the alphabet, frontwards or backwards
• Standing on one leg

Officers also sometimes make use of 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 the suspect’s eyes. The hypothesis is that the gaze of somebody who is impaired by alcohol or drugs shall be jerky rather than smooth.

The defenses to field sobriety tests are often the same as with officer observations. Medications and sleep disorders might make it considerably more tough to perform these assessments. A lot of people have physical impairments caused by injuries – or just aging -making it impossible to do these tasks under ideal conditions.

Your lawyer may cross-examine the arresting officer in more detail whether or not the officer questioned you if you had physical impairments or there have been particular circumstances that couldmake it tough to perform the tests. Your lawyer might also point out to the jury that lots of jury members could possibly have similar difficulties performing the tests, such as by asking the jury if they could recite the alphabet backwards under the best of circumstances.

For help with a DUI Savannah Georgia, find a criminal lawyer Savannah.

Tags: Behavior Observation, Bloodshot Eyes, Contact Lenses, Defense Attorney, Dwi Case, Dwi Cases, Dwi Lawyer, Eye Gaze, Field Sobriety Test, Field Sobriety Tests, Hesitation, Lack Of Sleep, Mental Performance, Nervousness, Personal Circumstances, Police Officer, Policeman, Prosecutions, Straight Line, Unclear Speech

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 1:17 pm and is filed under Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.