Building a Maryland First Time DUI Defense

While a person who is accused of a DUI could defend themselves in court, they may find it difficult to do so without training and experience in criminal cases. If you are building a Maryland first time DUI defense, consider speaking to an attorney for help. An experienced lawyer could craft a strong defense strategy tailored to the facts and circumstances of your case.

Questioning the Traffic Stop

One of the main areas attorneys look at when building a DUI defense is the traffic stop itself and the individual’s contact with law enforcement. In most cases, police pull people over for some traffic infraction or suspicion of a traffic infraction, e.g., speeding, running a red light or a stop sign, or driving erratically.

There must typically be some probable cause to conduct a traffic stop. The defense attorney could look at the situation closely if the cause is not clear from the evidence. If there was no probable cause to stop the vehicle, which could be seen as a detention of the driver, then the lawyer could move to suppress any subsequent evidence that came from that traffic stop.

If it was an unlawful stop and the police had no probable cause to stop the driver, then any evidence that came after that may need to be suppressed. If it was an unlawful traffic stop, the judge or jury may not hear the information and could resolve the case with an acquittal.

Probable Cause and Police Interactions

In typical DUI cases, when the officer interacts with the driver after stopping a vehicle, they may ask the person if they have consumed any alcoholic beverages. A defense attorney could begin building a Maryland first time DUI defense by arguing that this is an illegal or unconstitutional attempt to get the person to incriminate themselves. While the prosecution may think differently, the Constitution still applies, and the government or law enforcement must typically have some probable cause to remove the person from their vehicle.

Officers sometimes pull a person out of their car without requisite probable cause. This is considered a significant escalation of the detention. That escalation requires additional evidence of probable cause, and if there was no such evidence, a defense attorney could use this to the defendant’s advantage.

Field Sobriety Test Procedures

When conducting field sobriety tests, law enforcement in Maryland must typically follow the Guidelines of the National Highway Traffic and Safety Institute. These tests must be conducted very precisely. There are very specific rules about how these tests must be conducted and how the instructions must be given. If done correctly, the law could consider the results of these tests to be legitimate indicators of impairment. If done incorrectly, the results may be unusable.

When building a Maryland first time DUI defense, an attorney could look very closely to determine exactly how the tests were conducted and ensure that they were done correctly and in a proper environment. If they were done improperly and the person was arrested, taken back to the police station and administered a breathalyzer, all that evidence could potentially be suppressed.

Challenging a Breathalyzer Test

An attorney could also look at whether the State is introducing the results of a breathalyzer test. This is a scientific measurement of the alcohol in someone’s system based on blowing into a little machine. There are specific rules that must be followed:

• There must be a 20 minute observation period prior to conducting the test to ensure that the accused does not swallow anything
• The accused’s mouth must be free of obstruction
• The law enforcement official who administered the test must be available to testify at the trial

If any of those rules are not followed correctly, the results of that breathalyzer may be inadmissible.

Determining Who Was Driving

Another key area of defense is whether the person was actually driving the vehicle. The State may need to prove that the person was driving a vehicle and that they were driving under the influence of alcohol. In many cases, it is fairly simple for the officer to identify the accused as the operator of a vehicle.

However, if there is a collision, officers arrive at the scene after the fact, and all the people are outside of the vehicle, there may not be strong evidence to show exactly who was driving. The only evidence may be a statement from the accused themselves. This statement may or may not be admissible as evidence.

Reach Out to a DUI Attorney For Help Building a Defense

Begin building a Maryland first time DUI defense by reaching out to an attorney. An experienced criminal lawyer could carefully scrutinize the evidence against you and look for holes in the prosecution’s case. Call today to get started.