16 Ways to Challenge a Pennsylvania DUI
PENNSYLVANIA DUI ARREST DOES NOT EQUAL CONVICTION:
16 WAYS TO CHALLENGE A PA DUI
1. Illegal Stop: a Pennsylvania DUI Enforcement officer cannot stop a car without having a reasonable and articulate basis to believe that a law has been violated, or that there has been unusual operation of the motor vehicle. Therefore if the officer stops the car solely because he saw the driver walk out of a bar and get into the car, the PA DUI charge may be dismissed based on a violation of the driver's rights.
2. Medical and Health Problems: Medical problems with legs, arms, neck, back and eyes can affect the results of field sobriety tests. Other medical conditions can affect the validity of your PA breath test results.
3. Bad Weather: Weather Reports establishing low visibility, high winds, and other conditions can be used to explain poor driving or balance on the field sobriety tests.
4. "Standardized " Field Sobriety Tests May Not Be Reliable Evidence of Intoxication: According to Federal Government statistics, in healthy persons, the one-leg stand exercise is only 65% accurate in predicting someone to be over the legal limit of 0.08% BAC. That's a D in most school grading systems. The walk-and-turn test is only 68% accurate. Persons with injuries, medical conditions, 50 pounds or more overweight, and 65 years or older cannot be validly judged by field sobriety tests. The eye test (HGN) is not admissible in Pennsylvania courts to prove that a driver was intoxicated.
5. Non-Standard Field Sobriety Tests are not much better than flipping a coin to see if you are under the influence. Neither the Federal Government (NHTSA) or medical science consider touching your finger to your nose, saying the alphabet, or counting backwards as valid tests , in and of themselves, to determine intoxication.
6. Failure to Provide Complete Discovery: If all the required evidence has not been provided, a motion to compel evidence may be filed. If the discovery is still not provided by the date ordered by the judge, then charges may be dismissed.
7. Videos or Dispatch Tapes: Some patrol vehicles have video cameras. These videos, along with videos from testing rooms, booking rooms, and other sources may assist in defending some Pennsylvania DUI charges. These videos may show that the driving behavior or the field sobriety tests are not as bad as the officer interpreted them. A tape may demonstrate that the driver's speech was not slurred, or the driver was not swaying or stumbling, and their attitude was not combative or uncooperative. Even if the driver is not visible on the tape, the tape may have audio sound, which may provide information helpful to defend your PA DUI case.
8. Failure to Read the Implied Consent Warning: The Pennsylvania DUI enforcement officer must read the driver the Pennsylvania DUI Implied Consent warning before the driver submits to the blood or breath test. The failure to read the form or failure to read the correct form may result in the dismissal of charges.
9. Blood Test Inaccurate: The admissibility of blood testing depends on the procedures used in the taking of the sample, preservation of the sample, the testing protocol, and analysis of the sample.
10. Failure to Conduct Observation Period: For breath testing, if the police fail to keep you under observation for 20 minutes prior to the breath testing, the results of the testing may be excluded in court.
11. Breath Test Operator Unlicensed: A PA Breath Test Operator must possess a valid operator's license, or the breath test is inadmissible.
12. Breath Test Operator License Expired; A PA Breath Test Operator must possess an unexpired operator's license or the breath test result is inadmissible.
13. Breath Testing Machine Malfunctions: If there is a malfunction or subsequent repair of the breath test machine, your test results may not be accurate, such as: improper machine settings; failure of the machine to recognize errors in testing; failure of the machine on timing issues during the testing. If the Commonwealth can't show that all the proper procedures were followed with the machine, then the results of the testing might not be admitted into evidence.
14. Breath Testing Machine Not Properly Operated: There are specified protocols which must be followed for a breath test to be valid. Failure to follow these protocols can result in improper readings, and may be a reason to exclude the readings in court.
15. Interfering Substances: False breath test results may be caused by many items such as asthma spray, cough drops, paints, or fingernail polish, which contain forms of alcohol. Chemicals that you work with or use may cause a false positive result on the breath tests.
16. Drug Based DUIs / Drug Recognition Evaluation (DRE): If your blood pressure and temperature were taken, and you were induced to perform additional physical tests in the testing station, you went through the DRE protocol. This protocol has not been proven reliable in Pennsylvania court.
Please call 1-877-PA-86-DUI to speak with a PA DUI lawyer at Levow & Associates for a Free Pennsylvania DUI Consultation.
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