Many people assume that they are definitely going to be convicted on DUI charges if they fail a breath test. After all, the test gives police proof that the person was over the legal limit.
A breath test is certainly an important piece of information, as the court can presume that someone was impaired if they violated the legal limit. However, there are ways to challenge this, even if you failed the breath test. Never assume that it means you’re definitely going to be convicted.
Issues with the test itself
To begin with, there could be serious problems with the breath test. Maybe it wasn’t calibrated properly. Maybe the police department didn’t do routine maintenance, so they have no idea if the test is accurate.
The person administering the test could also have made mistakes. Perhaps the officer didn’t have the correct training and didn’t know what they were doing. You may be able to challenge the results on the grounds that they are not accurate enough to stand in court due to errors by the police.
Issues with the traffic stop
Furthermore, the police need reasonable suspicion to pull you over in the first place. The officer likely needs to see evidence of impairment in the way that you were driving, or they need to cite another reason, such as a moving violation. But if they pulled you over without reason, even if you were impaired, this violates your rights because it’s an illegal traffic stop. That could get the breath test results excluded from your case.
As you can see, there are many options when facing DUI charges. Be sure you know what legal steps to take at this time.
