Drunk Driving cases follow a certain protocol. The most important part of that is the stop, or the reason for the stop itself. Once the police pull you over for something, everything is pretty much done by the book, or at least it's supposed to be. And let's face facts, not many police officers are going to say they pulled a car over for no reason. Even if you don't recall being pulled over for exactly what they claim you were doing, and unless there is some in-car police video of you just driving along lawfully, the police are not going to say they were just bored and looking for someone to pull over for the fun of it. The point is, unless you can show that the police reason for pulling you over was fabricated, the stop is almost always going to stand up, and unless there is a mistake in the handling of the case from there on, spending a fortune fighting the case instead of making a bargain to minimize the problem is almost always a huge waste.

The majority of drunk driving arrests begin with the police officer noticing signs of intoxication. These usually involve things like smelling alcohol, or notice that the driver's eyes are red, bloodshot, or glassy. Often, police will note that the driver's speech was slow and/or slurred, or that the driver fumbled for their papers. Remember, police are specifically trained to look for these things. How many times have you ever been pulled over and suspected of drunk driving, only to be found to be sober, and let go?

Next come what are called field sobriety tests, which are tests like walking heel to toe, touching your nose with your index finger with your arm held out at arms length, reciting a specific part of the alphabet without singing it, and counting backwards from one number to another. Sometimes, the police will have you follow a light with your eyes. This is called the NSG test, and is virtually foolproof for detection of being under the influence of alcohol. At any rate, if you are reading this, you were undoubtedly found to have failed one or more of these tests and were put in the back of the police car and take what's called a PBT, or preliminary breath test. This portable unit gives a reading of your breath alcohol level. When you are over the limit, or close to it (.08 in all states) you will find yourself getting a ride to the police station and under arrest.

At the police station, you will next be asked to take another breath test on a larger machine. This is called the Datamaster, and it is supposed to be much more accurate than the portable unit. If you have been charged with Drunk Driving and did not refuse to take this test, then you were sent home later with, amongst other things, a big pink slip of paper that looks like an oversized store receipt. This is your Datamaster result.

This is probably the area where most Drunk Driving trial lawyers can win their cases. There are many experts who will testify about the problems with this machine. Depending on who you believe, this machine can be anywhere from extremely accurate to fairly inaccurate. When a person blows into this machine and gets a result under, right on, or very close to the legal limit, these experts might be able to convince a jury, depending on a number of circumstances such as the time between the traffic stop and the time you blew into the machine, that the reading is unreliable as a determination of what your actual blood alcohol level was at the time you were driving. If a jury cannot trust this evidence, then you could be found not guilty of the charge.

In cases where this evidence is, in my view, really disputable in your favor, I would always suggest that you at least consider fighting the charge. Those cases are, in my experience, however, very far and few between.

If your case is like most of the others I see, where your breath alcohol level was high enough that it is unlikely that an expert (who usually charges in the thousands of dollars, which you have to pay, by the way) can seriously assert that you were not over the legal limit when the police pulled you over, then I see pursuing that line of defense as throwing good money after bad and simply blowing the chance to cut a deal which can seriously minimize the negative impact this charge can have on you, your ability to drive, and the other consequences you can otherwise avoid.

So, if you are wondering where you stand, then as I said, it doesn't hurt to ask.

Of course, there are loads of other scenarios where you might question the police evidence against you. Sometimes these cases involve being arrested for drunk driving after the car has been parked and no one is in the car. Other times, a person may be sitting in a parked car, with the ignition off. Interestingly, in Michigan, sitting behind the wheel of a car, with the keys in the ignition, but the car not running, in a place publicly accessible, (like in a parking lot, or on the side of the road) is enough to sustain the charge of drunk driving and get a person convicted. The point is, and I'll say it again, it doesn't hurt to ask.

For the vast majority of those arrested, however, there are no such questions. When you don't have a clear way out, then it's time to look for damage control. In those cases, I can help you in more ways than you can imagine. Even in the cases that appear hopeless, lots can be done to spare you unnecessary misery.

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