Types Of Defenses Used In Houston DWI/DUI Cases
Part 1
DWI stands for Driving While Intoxicated or DUI, stands for Driving Under the Influence are both serious offenses. They are also associated with severe penalties. If you have recently been arrested or charged for a DWI or DUI offense, it becomes important to find out about the various defense options, if you intend to defend your charge. Building a viable and strong defense case may assist with reducing the penalties, getting your charges dropped, preventing a suspension on your driver’s license, and maybe even getting you acquitted once the trial is finalized.
It is also important that you know that a prosecution that is handling your DWI or DUI case, is required to prove the following 2 things have happened when you were pulled over:
- And that the person being charged (the defendant) was believed to be “under the influence”. “Under the Influence” means that the driver’s ability to drive their vehicle safely was to a degree affected by either their intake of drugs, alcohol, or in some cases both.
Defense cases are often mounted to try and prove that one or both of these elements is incorrect. This is aimed at stopping a prosecution from being able to prove the validity of their case. Defense cases are also able to assist in preventing a prosecution from presenting evidence if the case goes to trial, which further reduces the likelihood of the plaintiff (the prosecution) to actually prove they have a case.
The defense types that can be used for defendants of DWI and DUI charges may vary when it comes to where they were arrested (the state). Here is a list of the popular defense cases used in DWI and DUI charges, in the different states:
Defenses Associated With “Driving”
You cannot be charged with or convicted of “drunk driving” unless you were driving your vehicle when you were pulled over. Many of the charges only take place, once you are pulled over, which typically means there is not usually an argument or dispute about if you were driving the vehicle or not. However, if the traffic officer at the time failed to observe that you were actually driving the vehicle, for instance, you were sitting in your car in a public space with your car idling when an officer approached the vehicle, according to the evidence collected the issue related to “drunk driving” may become debatable.
Defenses Associated With Arrest
When it comes to defense cases, vital information may assist you when it comes to defending the DWI or DUI charges bought against you. For instance, if there was no reason or justification for an officer to pull you over and arrest you, to begin with, or when the correct legal procedures have not been followed by an officer during your arrest. Evidence gathered, including the testimony of the officer or results from your breathalyzer test might be deemed “inadmissible” in a court of law and even kept off the “court record”. This may mean that a prosecution might not have enough evidence which could lead to the charges been dropped against you.
Give Jim a call today and let him give you a free consultation so that you can get the help that you need. You can contact Jim for your free consultation! Click here for the second article in this series.