Fighting Your DUI
As the weekend approaches, officers throughout California are placing themselves in “DUI mode”. DUI sobriety checkpoints, DUI saturation patrols, and DUI officers will be operating in full force, trying to make as many DUI arrests as possible.
But don’t assume that just because you’ve been arrested for drunk driving means that you must plead guilty to drunk driving.
Vehicle Code 23152(a) California’s “driving under the influence” law is very subjective. When an officer pulls someone over at night on the weekend, he/she already has a biased opinion that the driver will most likely be DUI. The officer then conducts a so-called “investigation” with that already in mind.
Regardless of the actual circumstances, they pretty much assume anyone who has been drinking any amount of alcohol is DUI…and that’s not the case. Vehicle Code 23152(a) California’s “driving under the influence” law only punishes driving under the influence. And just because you’ve been drinking does not mean that you are affected to the point that you can’t safely drive a car.
Fatigue, allergies, illness, intimidation, car troubles, distraction…the list is endless. Any of these factors can influence the way you drive and can mimic the effects of alcohol. And a skilled California DUI defense attorney knows the most effective ways to convince prosecutors, judges, and juries that just because an overzealous officer personally believed you were driving under the influence does not mean that you legally were.
