Three Stages of DUI Defense

STAGE 1: Probable Cause

Thanks to your constitutional rights as a U.S. citizen, in order for a police officer to detain you the officer must have probable cause. To have probable cause to detain an individual, the officer must witness a criminal act or have a reasonable belief that a criminal act was committed or is about to be committed. When it comes to pulling someone over for a DUI, probable cause can be something as simple as a broken tail light.

If an officer detains or stops a person without reasonably articulable probable cause, the evidence obtained as a result of that stop or detention will be deemed "fruit of the poisonous tree" and will be suppressed from the point of infraction on. This means that if the officer pulls you over or detains you without probable cause, ALL of the evidence obtained will be considered inadmissible. If the evidence is inadmissible, the state will not be able to prove the elements to the crime and your defense is complete.

STAGE 2: Sufficiency of Evidence

The second stage of DUI defense is the Sufficiency of the Evidence. In most cases, the evidence for a DUI will include a driving pattern, the police officer's testimony regarding the Standard Field Sobriety Tests (SFTs), and a breath or blood test.

In most cases, the driving pattern will have been videotaped by the video camera mounted in the police officer's car. Because a videotape usually exists, this kind of evidence can be very helpful or damning to your case. If it the tape does not show an obvious inability to operate the vehicle safely (which in most cases it does not) then it becomes a point to argue.

The tape will also be used to evaluate the officer and your performance during the SFTs. If the tests are administered improperly, their value as evidence for the prosecution is destroyed. The tape will demonstrate whether or not the officer properly administered the tests. The officer's testimony at the drivers license hearing also becomes evidence concerning the administration of these tests.

Finally, evidence that undermines the credibility of the various blood and breath tests continues to grow. These tests must not only be administered correctly, but they must be administered with equipment that is regularly calibrated and that has undergone interval testing.

STAGE 3: Proving Guilt

The final stage of DUI defense is when the prosecutor must prove your guilt because you are always innocent until proven guilty. In order to prove you are guilty of driving under the influence, the prosecutor must show that:
(1) you were operating or in physical control of the vehicle, and
(2) you are under the influence of alcohol, any drug, or a combination thereof that renders you incapable of safely operating a vehicle, or
(3) you have sufficient alcohol in your body that a chemical test shows that you have a blood or breath concentration of .08 grams or greater at the time of the test.

If you refuse to submit to a blood or breath test, the state may impose a civil penalty separate from the criminal penalty. This penalty will result in the suspension of your drivers  license for up to 18 months whether or not you are convicted of DUI.

The information provided on this page is intended as information ONLY. This information in no way provides an adequate substitute for legal representation by a trained attorney.

If you would like to speak with an attorney regarding your Utah DUI defense please call Tyler Ayres at (801) 255-5555.

If you need an experienced drunk driving defense attorney, call us today for your free consultation.