Committing a DUI offense can be life-changing. From the time the police flags you to stop to when the handcuffs are put in your hands, and your thoughts may be disorienting. Getting away with a DUI offense depends on your wits to choose a lawyer whose experience can overturn the charges brought against you. The San Diego DUI Attorney defends DUI suspects in Winter Gardens who have no hope of seeing the light to being acquitted or charges being reduced to those having less severe penalties. Our top-grade expertise makes us qualified to tear down evidence held against you from the time of arrest all through the investigation process.

The Psychology of Driving Under the Influence

Alcohol is available in modern society on occasions such as catch-ups between friends, watching a sporting activity, and festivities. Liquor is the condiment of most social interactions. The implications of such sessions of gaiety come with personal costs once they cause damages to the third parties and themselves while driving under the influence. Below is the thought pattern of the drunk driving culprit:

  1. Display of Apathy

Those who drink and drive do not think about the potential harm they can cause once they commit a blunder behind the wheel. While inebriated, the narcissistic bubble is too hard to break out from. However, one ought to be empathetic enough to consider the harm posed by their drunk driving. The inability to think straightly about the consequences when drunk should necessitate shunning alcohol when driving.

  1. Drunk People Don’t Know They Are Drunk

Responsibility, the duty of care, and self-awareness shown by the movie clips and the adverts in the TV are diametrically opposed to the reality. Drunk drivers do not know or have the conception of how drunk they are. Inebriation is not easily rated, and the culprits always convince themselves that less drunk and rank above mediocrity in their driving ability. They are not better drivers when drunk, but the illusory superiority makes them overestimate their prowess, which may prove dangerous on the road.

  1. Taking Lightly the DUI Legal Implications

DUI is among the many things done without holding the horses a little to consider the height of financial and health implications when an injury results, either to oneself or to other people. Giving little consideration to the impact tips the scales to one’s disadvantage when they cause damages, and the victim hires a Winter Gardens Dui Attorney, who pushes for maximum compensation. Apart from using huge sums of money, the driving restrictions and jail terms after conviction are enough to make one sober up for a moment and consider the looming legal consequences once they commit a traffic offense when drunk.

Reasonable Suspicion And Probable Cause in a DUI Arrest

Reasonable suspicion in driving under the influence is the objective and unchallenged indication that one might have or was violating traffic regulations. The officer reasonably suspects that a person is committing a crime; hence it is enough to order them to pull over. The stop is meant for momentary detention to carry out a brief initial investigation. The following can be the grounds for reasonable suspicion that one is intoxicated and impaired to drive:

  • Slow driving and making erratic changes in speed

  • Drifting between lanes in short moments

  • Making drastic turns

  • Decelerating frequently

  • Hitting or nearly hitting motorists or other objects on the road

  • Stopping on the road unreasonably

Sometimes the reasonable suspicion may be found outside the driving action of the driver. For instance, when the driver parks the car and lies unconscious. Anything unrelated to driving, such as a damaged side mirror may also be a basis of reasonable suspicion.

If the brief and initial investigation, the officer may suspect you and decide to carry out:

  1. Field Sobriety Tests (FST)

These tests are meant to evaluate whether the driver is intoxicated and too impaired to drive. The suspect’s level of attention, maintaining balance, and general physical ability is evaluated. The results of these tests are the basis for establishing a probable cause for arresting a motorist suspected of driving under the influence. There exist non-standard FST and standard FST. The non-standard FST includes:

  1. Rhomberg Balance Test

This test requires the suspects to stand attention with the head tilted slightly backward. They then close their eyes and estimate when the lapse of thirty seconds after which they tilt their heads and open their eyes. The officers observe whether the suspects sway in any direction, the accuracy of estimating the lapse of thirty seconds, whether the suspect correctly obeys the procedures for the test, shakes in the eyelids and other body parts, the tension of the suspect and whether the suspect makes sounds during the test.

  1. Finger-to-nose Test

In this test, the individual touches the tip of their nose using their index finger three times with each hand-a total of six times. The officer instructs the suspect to use a specific finger each time they touch. The eyes are closed while the head is tilted backward at the time of touch. The officer observes the accuracy with which the individual uses the index finger to touch the tip of their noses and their depth of perception.

  1. The Finger Count Test

It involves putting the extended palm of their hand forward and uses the thumb to count by touching the tip of the fingers. The individual counts out loudly from the index finger to the little finger. The process is reversed thrice. The officer observes whether the driver counts correctly and follows the instructions in counting and counts in the correct sequence by touching the right finger.

There are also other sobriety tests such as counting ABC, hand pat, and counting numbers backward tests, which can be used to determine the driver’s level of impairment when in control of the vehicle. The standard field sobriety the recognized by the law are:

  • Walk and turn, which tests the ability of one to complete tasks while the attention is torn between several stimuli. The allegedly impaired driver makes nine steps on a straight course, heel-to-toe. After the steps are complete the suspect returns on the same line in the opposite direction after turning

  • Another test involves standing with one leg. For thirty seconds, the driver stands with one foot off the ground. The driver gives an indication of impairment when they sway, try to stand with both legs hopping and trying to balance with the legs

  • Horizontal gaze nystagmus, a test where the eye naturally and involuntary jerks when focused on the sides. This jerking of the eyes increases when one is impaired. The officer observes for intoxication signs such as inability to keep the focus on a moving object and jerking of the eyes when focused on 45 degrees at the center

Your Winter Gardens DUI Attorney will provide an innocuous explanation of your results of the field sobriety tests should you fail them. When a motorist fails the field sobriety tests, a blood alcohol concentration is conducted in them.

  1. Blood Alcohol Concentration Tests

The BAC is screened using samples from the hair follicle, the saliva, urine, blood, and breath. The blood samples are not commonly used unless one declines to give their breath sample or are seriously injured and cannot provide the other samples used to determine the BAC level. The breath samples are analyzed using breathalyzers, which indicates the BAC levels. Generally, in all states, a BAC below 0.08% is acceptable for one to be considered guiltless of a DUI offense. However, one is still chargeable for DUI impairment if they were too intoxicated to control the vehicle.

The readings from the breathalyzers are prone to errors where they inflate the readings of the BAC, where if not appropriately checked can lead to per se DUI charges in which one is charged for exceeding the legal limit of the BAC. Your local Winter Gardens DUI Attorney will bring into question the possible reasons why the BAC inflates such as:

  • The design flaws of the breathalyzers

  • The temperatures of the breathalyzers during the screening

  • The variation in the amount of hematocrit in blood samples which affects the results

  • The body temperatures of the suspects which affects the breath and blood samples

The errors likely to be recorded by the breathalyzers are not expected to exceed the legal limit by a higher margin. A more significant margin above 0.08% is not always easy to defend by citing the factors that contribute to the high BAC readings. The saliva test kits are the most accurate, and therefore if possible, it is advisable to give the saliva samples whose BAC corresponds to that in the blood. Evidence collected the samples by the arresting officer who did not have reasonable suspicion is dropped and cannot be held against them in court.

A probable cause is enough evidence that one has committed a crime, and hence their arrest is justified. The probable cause could be stemming from the results of field sobriety tests or the BAC tests conducted during the short term detention upon pulling over. These results should suggest that the driver likely committed a crime. Some other reasons for establishing a probable cause are:

  • Admitting to the investigating officer that you took some beer prior driving

  • If someone on board witnessed you getting drank and testifies for your drunkenness

  • Having trouble tracing their driving license

  • Acting suspiciously after being stopped

  • The presence of alcohol or other drugs smell

In defense, the Winter Gardens DUI Attorney will look for the loopholes in the existence of reasonable suspicion in your initial detention and investigation and probable cause that warranted your arrest.

During the trial, the judge uses the probable cause clause to evaluate the following:

  • The arrests made by the police without having the warrants to do so since the indication of committing a crime happens spontaneously in their line of duty

  • Searches conducted without warrants and seizures of the car or other objects without a warrant

  • The requests for grants of warrants for making searches and arrests in DUI related cases

Therefore the judges use the probable cause to evaluate any action by the police that necessitates the arraigning of a suspect for trial for allegedly committing a crime. The courts are reluctant to describe the exact details of a probable cause since the cases of DUI crimes are unique all the time.

Probations Programs

When a suspect is convicted of a DUI charge, whether a misdemeanor or a felony, it is not always the case that they are sent to prison. Sometimes the jury recommends probation for a convict if they agree to abide by the terms and conditions. The following conditions of the probation vary depending on whether the offense is the first or a subsequent DUI offense:

  • A fine varying from $390 to $1000 which can double or triple depending on the evaluation of your case

  • Suspension of the driving license for a period of six months to four years. The driver drives the vehicle during this suspension after fixing the Ignition Interlock Device in their cars. The IID remains in the car for a stipulated time until the court gives a restricted driving license to drive to work probation programs and other court-approved places

  • Attending a DUI school for training on alcohol and other drugs, a program that runs for 12 hours to thirty months

  • A jail term in county prison for a certain number of days

Other general conditions to be complied with regardless of whether it is the first or subsequent charge for DUI offense are:

  • No committing of additional DUI offenses while on probation

  • No driving with any level of BAC

  • Submitting any order from traffic police to take any blood and breath sample to assess the BAC upon a reasonable suspicion

  • Misdemeanor probation running between 3 to 5 years

  • Abstaining from alcohol or any drug when driving during the period of probation as stipulated in the California state’s zero-tolerance laws

Failing to submit to the BAC assessment once suspected can make the probation revoked if the BAC is found to be 0.04% or more. The convict can only serve for 48 hours in the county jail to avoid the cancellation of the probation. The severe form of penalty for violating the zero-tolerance laws is a driving license suspension for a year. A Winter Gardens DUI attorney will help you to request for a hearing within ten days and defend you to win to avert the automatic suspension of the driving license.

An IID is installed to make sure that the driver drives the car only when they have alcohol free breath. IID installation is mandatory during probation when:

  • When the defendant defies submitting to the evaluation of the BAC

  • When the BAC was 0.15% and above

  • When the defendant must drive during the period of license suspension to maintain life

  • When the DUI offense is the subsequent

IID mandatory installation remains in the vehicle for a period that is dependent on:

  • Whether the DUI offense is the first or a subsequent one

  • Whether the conviction was for a pure DUI charge or an injury was involved

Mandatory installation of IID is required when a driver is arrested driving under the influence during the license suspension period. Driving on a suspended license during probation can lead to charges for violating probation conditions which attract a jail term. Sometimes instead of the jail term being imposed as part of probation, other alternative forms of sentencing are given on the convict. These alternative forms of sentencing serve the following reasons:

  • Lightening the load of the correctional facilities

  • Helping the charitable organization reduce their labor strains

  • The convict gets the opportunity to reform through the work and give back to the society

  • It is felt that the minor offenders benefit from the community service than the imprisonment

These other forms of sentencing include:

  • Doing community service

  • Being put under house arrest and monitoring electronically. It is given when one commits multiple DUI offenses or is an alcohol addict

  • Restituting anyone who suffered damages due to their driving under the influence

  • Education classes for alcohol rehabilitation

A convict is required to comply with the requirements of the probation and give a proof of the same to the judge through the regular court evaluation, probation officers report and certification from the state institutions recognized by the court for reforming offenders. Flouting the regulations leads to arrest of the convict and charge them for defying court orders.

Finding a Winter Gardens DUI Attorney Near Me

When unchallengeable evidence is used to charge you in court, a defense attorney should be at the forefront of bargaining a plea on your behalf to be charged for less serious offenses. The lawyer will also negotiate for the best-tailored penalties for you so that you do not have to go through the pain of incarceration, probation, and DUI school for just a social drink on that fateful day. The San Diego DUI Attorney in Winter Gardens is the choice for legal representation that understands California state law and is reliable to cushion you from unreasonable legal proceedings and penalties. Call us today for inquiries about your case by dialing 619-535-7150.