Drunk and drugged driving offenses can lead to license suspensions, driving with an ignition interlock, fines, insurance surcharges, and more costs. When you have been pulled over and charged with driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI), you need a lawyer on your side.
Our attorneys can challenge the evidence the police and prosecutors bring against you, fight the officer’s story of the events, challenge the legality of the stop, and potentially get the case dismissed to help you avoid penalties. We can also help you get out on bail, appeal wrong decisions, and more.
For a free case assessment, call Lombardo Law Group’s DUI/DWI lawyers at (609) 418-4537 today.
What Happens at a DUI/DWI Stop in Folsom, NJ?
When you are pulled over by a police officer, expect the following things to happen. Afterward, our DUI/DWI lawyers can help you challenge some of these events and some of the evidence collected, potentially getting the case thrown out:
Initial Stop
Police often pull people over for drunk driving after witnessing them do something illegal. If you run a red light or fail to signal a turn, you might be pulled over just for that, and then they begin to suspect you of drunk or drugged driving after talking to you. In other cases, they might suspect you are drunk because you are swerving or driving too slowly.
In any case, police need at least “reasonable suspicion” to stop you, and actually witnessing some other traffic violation is usually enough.
Police can also stop you at a DWI checkpoint if they have followed the proper procedures to set one up.
Investigation
Police will look for evidence of drunk driving in what you say, how you act, and how you appear. For example, they will smell you for alcohol on your breath, look at your eyes to see if they are bloodshot or watery, and listen for slurred speech. If they see you trip or stumble, and especially if you tell them you have been drinking, they may have evidence to secure an arrest.
Portable Breath Test
The initial “breathalyzer” they might ask you to blow into before arresting you is called a portable or presumptive breath test (PBT). The PBT can put out a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) score, but these devices are not considered reliable enough to use that number in court. The police can, however, use that number as proof that there is alcohol in your system to provide them with probable cause to arrest you. However, you can also refuse to take this PBT test.
Field Sobriety Tests
Field sobriety tests (FSTs) are supposed to indicate that you are intoxicated if you “fail” them. However, FSTs can be failed for many reasons, such as disabilities. This calls into question their scientific value, and any mistakes in properly administering the test can also hurt their value, potentially getting the tests thrown out as evidence. You also have no obligation to perform the tests.
Arrest and “Breathalyzer” Test
In New Jersey, police can perform a breath test as part of a “search incident to arrest” after they have enough probable cause to arrest you. This test cannot legally be refused without immediate penalties, including a license suspension. This test will provide a BAC number they can use as evidence of your drunkenness.
If you are suspected of a drug DUI, then they will potentially want a blood test instead. Usually, a warrant is required for this.
Ways We Can Challenge Your Drunk/Drugged Driving Charges in Folsom, NJ
As you might be able to tell based on this process, there are a few areas where there are requirements for what the police need before they can move on to the next stage. If the police move on without meeting the necessary requirements, we can get that evidence thrown out. The same is true if the prosecution cannot meet its burden in court, potentially because there is not enough evidence that what you did meets the requirements for DUI/DWI:
Challenging the Stop
If the police did not have reasonable suspicion to stop you in the first place, then we can get the entire stop and all evidence seized because of it thrown out. The evidence that is downstream of the arrest – the so-called “fruit of the poisonous tree” – cannot be used if the initial stop was illegal.
As mentioned, any observation of a traffic offense should be enough to justify the stop, though. This makes challenging the initial stop difficult unless the officer made a serious error.
Challenging the Arrest
Police need enough evidence to show they have “probable cause” to arrest you. This means having articulable facts – things they can actually recite in court and point to – that prove you were driving drunk or high. If you did not answer their questions, you refused a PBT, and you declined field sobriety tests, there might not be enough evidence for them to have arrested you in the first place.
If the arrest was illegal, then the breathalyzer test afterward was also illegal, and its results should be thrown out.
Challenging Charges
If the arrest gets thrown out, so should the entire case. Prosecutors also need probable cause to bring a case to court, and without probable cause for the arrest, there is unlikely to be probable cause for the charges.
Challenging Evidence
Some evidence might be tainted or unreliable, hurting the prosecution’s case. Speed radars, breathalyzers, and blood tests can all be inaccurate or use improperly calibrated devices, calling into question the results and the subsequent stop or arrest based on those results. There may also be issues with the way the evidence is presented, such as if the officer is not available to testify in person or if the lab results are not transmitted properly with a person who can testify in court, hearsay rules might throw out that evidence.
Challenging Allegations
DWI/DUI charges need specific requirements met for a conviction. For example, you need to have actually been in control of the vehicle, which they cannot prove if you did not have access to the keys, for example. Other factual issues might also get your case ultimately dismissed.
Call Our Folsom, NJ Drunk/Drugged Driving Lawyers Today
Reach out to Lombardo Law Group at (609) 418-4537 today for a free case evaluation with our DUI/DWI lawyers.
