The defense lawyer in a Miami DUI case points out to the jury that the prosecution is taking perfectly innocent and ordinary behavior and interpreting it as evidence of criminal activity. A Miami DUI attorney will show the jury that field sobriety tests are unnatural and that it is ludicrous to consider them evidence of being in possession of one's normal faculties.
The so-called "walk and turn" field sobriety test requires taking nine steps heel to toe, making a very specific three-part turn, then nine steps back. The driver is told to keep his hands at his side and not use them for balance. The instruction not to use one's arms for balance is very unnatural. If the driver uses his arms for balance as is natural or does not follow the officer's lengthy instructions precisely, the officer will offer this as "evidence of impairment." The DUI defense lawyer will point out that people do not normally walk this way so that it is ludicrous to consider the failure to perform the exercise as evidence that the driver's normal activities are impaired. Since most of the field sobriety tests involve this type of unnatural exercise, the DUI lawyer will try to get the officer to admit that these exercises are unnatural exercises.
Another example of the officer interpreting innocent behavior as "evidence of impairment" would include pulling a driver over for going to slow. The officer will testify that based on his training and experience driving too slowly is evidence of impairment. The officer will try to point out anything that is less than perfect driving is evidence of impairment. A good Miami DUI defense lawyer will point out all of the things the driver did correctly. The defense lawyer will walk the officer step by step through all of the things the driver did correctly. The goal is to get the jury to draw the conclusion that although the driver did a couple minor things wrong most of his driving was perfectly normal.
Once the officer has determined that the driver has failed the field sobriety tests, the officer will handcuff the driver and drive him to the jail to take a breathalyzer test. The prosecutor will not present evidence that the breathalyzer machine is scientifically reliable, and the DUI defense attorney will point this out. The defense attorney will also argue that taking the driver's blood would be a more reliable way to test blood alcohol level. He will explain that a breathalyzer test was used instead only because it is cheaper.
If the driver refuses to submit to the breathalyzer test, the officer will say it indicates consciousness of guilt. However, a DUI defense lawyer will walk the officer through the questions he asked the driver before the breathalyzer test. Police officers never tell the driver anything about the reliability of the machine or how it works. The DUI lawyer will explain to the jury that it is perfectly normal not to want to breathe into this mysterious machine if the driver has even had a sip of alcohol. The defense lawyer will show the jury that it is perfectly reasonable for someone who has already been arrested to not want to trust a machine that he does not understand.
These are just some of the ways a qualified DUI defense lawyer may challenge field sobriety and breathalyzer tests in court. This shows how a good DUI lawyer can make a difference in one's DUI criminal case.
Musca Law provides the highest quality criminal litigation services to the residents of Miami. Our criminal defense lawyers have successfully tried, defended, and appealed hundreds of cases in both State and Federal courts throughout Florida. These cases include, but are not limited to, felony cases, misdemeanor cases, DUI, drug crimes, federal crimes, domestic violence, theft crimes, sex crimes, probation violations, white collar crimes, violent crimes, and motor vehicle offenses.
