Friday, February 5, 2010
Field Sobriety Test Problems - Drunk Driving Lawyers in Mass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIlA0tPKWAk&hl=en
Monday, February 1, 2010
Under the Legal Limit But Still Arrested For DUI
Drunk driving offenses are taken very seriously in the United States. Police officers are continually on the lookout for drivers who are behaving erratically and may be drunk. To help determine a driver's level of drunkenness, the police have developed field sobriety tests. Breathalyzer devices have also been developed to get an immediate blood alcohol content (BAC) estimate from the driver. Since none of these tests are completely accurate, a large part of a DUI arrest depends on the police officer's own judgment of your intoxication level.
Under.08 Can Still Result in an Arrest
By law, the legal BAC limit for anyone age 21 or over is.08 BAC. This percentage was decided by the federal government, which can revoke states' federal highway funding if they do not comply with a.08 BAC policy. However, this does not restrict officers from arresting individuals who test under.08 BAC. If an officer believes that you were driving impaired, you can be arrested regardless of what your breathalyzer test reads. Since alcohol affects different people in different ways, someone under.08 BAC may actually be less fit to drive than someone with a higher BAC reading. For this reason, officers often arrest anyone with a BAC reading of.05 or above.
Knowing Your Rights
While an officer can arrest you and charge you with a DUI even if your BAC is under.08, this does not mean that you will automatically be convicted. Every individual has a right to a lawyer and to a fair trial. If you believe that you have been wrongly charged, you can contest the DUI in court. If the police arrested you on a hunch with no substantial evidence to back up the arrest, the charge may be dropped. A DUI defense attorney can help to protect your rights under the law and will question the legitimacy of any evidence brought against you.
The police must follow certain procedures and provide appropriate evidence in order to legally charge you for a crime. If you believe that you have been unjustly charged or that evidence against you was improperly obtained, consider contacting a DUI defense lawyer immediately to assist with your defense.
For More Information
To learn more about drunk driving charges and preparing a legal defense, please visit the website of experienced Rhode Island DUI lawyer James Powderly today.
Joseph Devine