Every DWI Arrest has 4 distinct phases- a problem with any one of them could cause a drunk driving conviction: traffic stop and interrogation; conducting the three field sobriety tests; reviewing the DWI questionnaire and offering anyone suspected of drunk driving the choice of taking the "breath test." It is vitally important your DWI criminal defense lawyer be skilled at examining many of these 4 components to maximizing your likelihood of avoiding a DWI conviction. So, with nevertheless, let's look at each of these 4 stages and how an experienced DWI lawyer can assist you to along with your drunk driving arrest. Successfully challenging the state's DWI case at these stages may justify getting the evidence in the case dumped of court or, if allowed, justify an acquittal exonerating you of a drunk driving offense. Low-cost DWI Attorney

DWI Traffic Stop

The authorities patrol the highways and hangout in parking lots near popular bars to be able to locate suspected drunk drivers. The authorities cannot simply detain or arrest someone coming out of a bar. They need to observe them committing a traffic infraction so they can begin their drunk driving investigation. It is not unusual for many DWI investigations to start with someone "touching the centerline" of the highway or failing to utilize their turn signal for a routine lane change. Fortunately, many police cars have video cameras that record the events prior to the traffic stop. A good criminal defense attorney can review the video recording to ascertain if, in fact, the authorities officer can correctly set up a traffic violation. If the officer is wrong, your criminal defense attorney can file a motion to suppress the evidence and argue your case should really be dumped of court because the authorities didn't have probable cause to arrest you and also argue that any evidence of your intoxication should really be suppressed because this is in relation to an unlawful arrest.

Once you are pulled over onto the side of the road, the authorities officer will utilize the time to investigate and issue a traffic citation to judge you for drunk driving. You may well be ordered from your car so the authorities officer can observe you exiting the automobile and walking towards him. He will probably check out see in the event that you sway while walking and whether you'll need to utilize your car or truck for balance. If either is observed, those are clues suggesting impairment. Upon contacting you, the authorities will ask you routine questions of where you are going and if you are aware why he pulled you over. The authorities officer will utilize this as an opportunity to observe your speech to see when it is normal or when it is slurred. They may also be checking to see whether your eyes are blood shot and whether they can smell alcohol on your own breath. That is interesting because alcohol doesn't have a "smell", several things can lead to "blood shot eyes", and some folks have speech patterns which could seem "slurred" normally. Again, this is where video is important. A good DWI attorney can begin to challenge the authorities officer's credibility by reviewing the video and contesting his observations of swaying and the types of speech. Additionally, a great criminal defense trial lawyer can emphasize each of things that you've done correctly to show that you are not impaired and shouldn't be suspected of drunk driving.

At this time, if the officer believes you are drunk driving, he will become an official investigation by asking you to execute the three field sobriety tests.

The 3 DWI Field Sobriety Tests

The officer will ask you to be involved in some standard field sobriety tests to ascertain whether you are able to drive. These two of those tests are designed for failure and are split-attention tests. None of the three tests have scores to correlate to particular blood-alcohol content. Quite simply, the exact same tests used years back to ascertain whether you had been drunk whenever a BAC% of 0.10 was the demarcation line is used today whenever a BAC% of 0.08% in the new standard and is likely to be used in a long time when efforts to reduce the presumption amount of intoxication becomes a BAC% of 0.05%. There are 3 standard field sobriety tests: the nystagmus test, the walk and turn test, and usually the one legged stand test. Placing your finger to your nose or reciting the alphabet backwards aren't standard tests and are of no evidentiary value.

The nystagmus tests tracks the movements of your pupils. This is often called "the pen test." The officer is trying to see how your pupils track and object and how they act at the purpose of "maximum deviation" or how far they can follow a subject before you'll need to turn your head. In a normal, and sober, person the pupil will move, or "track" the thing it is following smoothly and can hold still at maximum deviation. The authorities are trying to see if the pupil "jerks" or acts erratically. The horizontal nystagmus is likely to be conducted for those suspected of driving drunk on alcohol. Merely a qualified DWI attorney can tell if this test is done properly. The authorities must make so many "passes" with each eye and hold the thing at a particular height and distance from the suspected drunk driver. In a great world, your criminal defense lawyer can critique the officer's administration of the test by relying upon the video. When video is lacking, they can critique the officer in court by asking him how he performs the test and have even him demonstrate his technique during cross-examination. There's also known medical conditions that may affect nystagmus. A criminal defense attorney familiar with litigating DWI cases can question the officer about these conditions and present evidence of your affliction at trial. In most likelihood, the officer failed to ask.

The next two tests are split-activity tests meaning they require you to execute a physical exercise while, at once, require you to participate in a mental task. Do you remember the overall game as a young child where you walk, while chewing gum and rubbing your tummy? It is hard to do. These tests are designed for failure. Among the tests is really a one leg stand. In this test, you'll need to lift one leg up 6 inches and hold it for an amount of time. You may well be asked to count. The next test may be the walk and turn. In this test you are going to walk 9 steps placing your heel facing your toe for 9 steps, execute a regimented turn, and walk back for 9 more steps. The authorities are trying to see if you're able to follow directions, need assistance with balancing and can count while doing the test. These are hard tests to do sober and even the authorities officer will admit he's trained to do them himself. A skilled DWI lawyer can review the video and question the officer to see if the instructions given to the suspected drunk driver were court and can examine perhaps the officer demonstrated the tests correctly. A good DWI lawyer may also be ready to show for the judge that which you did correctly on these tests in addition to provide proof any shape you might have that will make these tests an incorrect way of measuring your sobriety.

In most likelihood, anyone pulled over on the side of the road won't do well on the three field sobriety tests. At this time, the officer will now formally go over with you the DWI questionnaire. He probably asked you many these questions already.

THE DWI Questionnaire

This can be a crucial bit of the case and can turn an otherwise defensible case in to a conviction. Make no mistake, this is an interrogation. The officer will probably ask you questions which will assist in proving the case for drunk driving. You is likely to be asked if you had been operating, i.e. driving, the car. You is likely to be asked if you had been drinking and, in that case, how much and over what timeframe. You is likely to be asked where you are via and if you have any medical conditions they need to find out about. It is not uncommon for drivers, who may have inked well on the field sobriety tests, to advise that they're from the bar where they've consumed 4 beers and 2 shots of alcohol. Many clients will claim that they were not Mirandized or advised of these rights beforehand. Unfortunately, the Miranda warnings might be inapplicable to this stage of the investigation. Nevertheless, a skilled defense lawyer can mitigate damage caused by incriminating answers. This can be a very fact specific analysis that is hard to generalize in a quick article. But as a broad rule, even devastating answers, could be placed into their proper context if other facets of the case are defensible.

After gaining their admissions, the officer will now transfer to sealing the offer as we say and advise you he considers you too impaired to drive and offers you the ability to show otherwise if you're able to pass the "breath test" ;.

The DWI Breath Test

The last aspect of a DWI investigation may be the submission to the breath test. Here, the driver will blow into a pipe connected to a digital device that is effective at measuring the total amount of alcohol in your blood in relation to the total amount of alcohol particles transmitted in your breath. Most states require drivers to submit to this test as a condition of obtaining a driver's license and heavily penalize people who won't take the test by mandating lengthy suspensions of the driver's driving privileges if they won't take the test. These states are called implied consent states. There are a variety of defenses to an adverse breath test result. A few of these defenses are procedural, put simply, making sure the equipment is properly calibrated, the officer properly trained and certified to give the test, and the proper procedures were followed in administering the test. Unfortunately, few of those tests are recorded since the equipment is at the sheriff's station or perhaps even the local jail. Additionally, there are plenty of medical conditions that may result in a false result on the equipment a DWI lawyer can investigate. Lastly, based upon your results, some DWI cases could be won by hiring a specialist who will estimate the degree of impairment at the time of driving in relation to the degree of impairment at the time of the test.

If you've been arrested for drunk driving and provided a breath sample, you'll need to get hold of an experienced DWI attorney. A qualified lawyer will be able to review the legitimacy of the traffic stop and determine perhaps the police administered the field sobriety and breathalyzer tests correctly. A DWI/DUI conviction can have many civil consequences so this isn't something to take lightly. Call Andre Belanger to set up a time to review your case. Andre's handled nearly 200 criminal trials during his tenure as a trial lawyer. Andre's office is found in Baton Rouge and he handles DWI/DUI cases throughout Louisiana and Mississippi Low-cost DWI Attorney. You are able to learn more about his firm at