4 Distinct Considerations for a Prosecutor's Case
Chicago DUI, DWI, & Drunk Driving Law

" What are the 4 distinct considerations prosecutor's use to convict DUI offenders? "

A police officer may stop you at a roadside safety check-point or based on a traffic infraction or based on the unusual operation of your vehicle.  They cannot stop you (except at a check-point) unless they have a reasonable basis to believe that a traffic law has been violated.  When you are pulled over, police officers are looking for 4 categories when investigating:

• Driving Pattern
• Physical Symptoms
• FST: Field Sobriety Test Performance
• Chemical Test Results

Driving Pattern

The driving patterns that police typically report may be incomplete, and often one-sided.  They may only write down one thing that the driver did wrong.  A skillful DUI defense lawyer can point out the many things their clients do right.  Many times, by pointing out the ways in which a driving pattern is consistent with sobriety, a drunk driving attorney can rebut this aspect of the prosecution's case, for being pulled over in the first place.

Physical Symptoms

Physical symptoms can appear at first to be evidence of guilt.  But, they can be another opportunity to point out inaccuracies in the investigation performed by an officer.  For instance, police can point to watery red eyes as a symptom of impairment but may not ask if someone is fatigued or has allergies, has been around cigarette smoke, or if there are any other reasons for red eyes.

An odor of alcohol on an individual's breath can sound bad at first, but what does it prove other than to confirm that the person has been drinking alcohol.  It does not disclose how much was consumed, when it was consumed, or what specific alcoholic beverage was consumed.  The officer can not tell how much, what kind, and when.  Take non-alcoholic beer as an example.  Remember, it is not illegal to drink and drive, it is illegal to drink too much and drive.

Field Sobriety Tests

FST's will always be questioned aggressively by a trained lawyer.  How many of us performed physical agility exercises to get our licenses?  What do these random unfair physical exercises have to do with your driving skills?  Juries can be influenced and tend to understand that physical agility suffers when you are nervous and forced out of your car to perform roadside gymnastics in front of  armed, uniformed officers.  Without knowing your physical background in the first place.

Chemical Testing

Chemical testing must be proven to be accurate and reliable before it can be accepted.  And there is a lot of evidence against the true performance of these machines.  But, if standard breath machines are working properly and all regulations regarding testing were observed, and the numbers were indeed accurate, then there will still be issues relating to the alcohol level at the time of driving.  Because It is not illegal to have a .12 back at the police station. 

In fact, different metabolisms aside, that number is relevant to use to look back and determine the alcohol level at the actual time of driving.  It is quite possible to scientifically demonstrate that someone who is a .12 at the police station was possibly less than a .06 while actually driving.  When you calculate the stomach contents, absorption rate, drinking pattern, time of drinking, time of driving, and time of testing.

At the Law Office of Fred Mark Dry, we are on your side.  We understand the inaccuracies of justice and the unfair punishments for working Americans, and we want to protect your rights.  Please contact us immediately, if you or a loved one has been arrested for a DUI, DWI, or drunk driving offense.