Potential Defense Strategies for DUI Charges

Pennsylvania, like the rest of the United States, takes charges of driving under the influence (DUI) extremely seriously. People convicted of DUI charges face a wide variety of possible punishments, ranging from having to use interlock ignition devices to being sentenced to jail time or serious fines. 

However, there are certain defense strategies available to people accused of these crimes that could limit these punishments or help the accused to avoid them altogether. These include: 

• Defenses related to the process of driving. It might sound obvious, but you need to have actually been driving to be convicted of a DUI. If the officer approached your car while you were sitting idle in a parking lot, for instance, you would be able to argue that the officer never actually observed you driving.
• Defenses related to the way the arrest occurred. If you are able to prove that the officer did not have any justification for pulling you over or arresting you, or if the officer did not follow proper protocol during the arrest then the evidence obtained could be considered inadmissible. Any evidence collected against you during that arrest, even including failed blood or breathalyzer tests, would not be allowed to be used because the arrest was unlawful.
• Defenses against officer testimony. A large part of evidence levied against people charged with DUI comes from the arresting officer’s own observations. The officer could say your driving behavior raised suspicion, or that you acted suspiciously upon being stopped. You could offer witnesses of your own to challenge the officer’s testimony, or present valid reasons that you were behaving the way you were. 

For more information on DUI defense in Berks County, speak with experienced Reading criminal defense attorney David R. Eshelman.