Kentucky law enforcement professionals enforce traffic regulations when they spot moving violations. An officer can pull someone over for speeding or failing to use their turn signal. They can also arrest people after a traffic stop or collision due to suspicions of intoxication.
Driving under the influence (DUI) charges can cost someone their license and leave them with a permanent criminal record. Pleading guilty to such charges is often not the best solution, as it means accepting the penalties handed down by the courts and the consequences of a criminal record.
Many people do successfully defend against DUI allegations. Here are some of the common defense strategies that may work for those accused of drunk driving in Kentucky.
1. Challenging the traffic stop
Police officers do not have the authority to pull someone over and interrupt their day unless they have probable cause to suspect some kind of traffic violation may have occurred. Officers will sometimes fail to provide a justification for the traffic stop that leads to someone’s DUI arrest.
Especially if that officer is a personal history with the individual accused or a record of racial profiling, the questionable traffic stop could result in the courts throwing out the charges or the evidence gathered in the traffic stop.
2. Questioning the test results
Chemical breath tests purport to provide an accurate understanding of someone’s chemical state at the time of test administration. However, there are a shocking number of reasons why someone could have false positive results on a breath test.
Issues including unusual medical conditions or extreme weight loss efforts could lead to someone failing a breath test and getting arrested. Those who have an alternative explanation for test results or reason to question them altogether could challenge the testing unit’s accuracy or the science of breath testing.
3. Showing an issue with police department practices
Did the police department fail to calibrate the breath test unit for weeks prior to its use during the traffic stop? Was it in need of a software update that may have affected the accuracy of test results?
Even field sobriety tests can lead to questions about how a police officer conducted themselves. If they don’t videotape the tests or they ask someone to perform unusual, non-standard field sobriety tests, the defendant may be in a position to exclude the test results from their trial.
Every DUI arrest in Kentucky is unique and selecting the right defense strategy requires first reviewing the evidence collected by the state. Learning about common defense strategies will help those hoping to beat upcoming DUI charges.