It is important to start thinking ahead the moment the police pull you over on suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI). Missteps now could greatly harm your defense later.
One of the reasons people do things that harm their chances of an acquittal is because they forget or do not realize they may be able to beat the charges. They assume the police pulling them over after they have had something to drink means a conviction is certain. Often they do not even bother to fight the charges.
Here are some possible ways to contest a DWI charge:
Dispute that you were over the limit
Consuming some alcohol before driving is not against the law for most drivers. You are allowed to drink some alcohol, but not too much. While there are ways for a court to convict you even when you were under the legal limit, casting doubt on whether you were over the limit may be enough to walk out of court free. One way you could do this is to show the breathalyzer lacked calibration, but there are other possibilities.
Show the police did not follow the required procedures
The police cannot just stop anyone they like whenever they like to check whether they have been drinking. They need reasonable suspicion that a driver has committed a crime to pull them over and probable cause to believe the driver was guilty of a DWI to charge them with it. While the police may claim they had both, you could challenge that assumption in court.
Those are just a couple of the ways to fight a DWI charge. By learning more about all the available options you can reduce the chance your DWI stop ends in a criminal record.
