subject: Difficulties Encountered By The Utah Dui Lawyer [print this page] DUI cases can sometimes be very hard to winDUI cases can sometimes be very hard to win. In most cases, the prosecution has a lot of good evidence. For example, the video camera mounted in the police officer's car often proves that the initial traffic stop was valid. That camera can show that the field sobriety tests were administered properly as well. There are sophisticated pieces of equipment such as blood test machines and breathalyzers that are good at determining whether or not a person was driving under the influence without the need to perform a field sobriety test. Finally, there is a perception by many people that defendants who are stopped are likely to be guilty. All of these things can make the job of the Utah DUI lawyer difficult. Nevertheless, there is no chance of winning if the defendant pleads guilty. There is no chance of minimizing the punishment from a DUI without a lawyer. That is why hiring an attorney is a good idea even though the work on the case may be difficult.
In many different criminal cases including driving under the influence, defendants make incriminating remarks to the police officer that make it even more difficult to win a case. For example, the defendant may admit to having a few drinks at the bar prior to driving. That is basically tantamount to pleading guilty while at the scene of the crime. The lawyer will have a tough time getting these incriminating statements suppressed. The best way to fight the incriminating statements is if the police officer violated the motorist's rights. If there was no probable cause to make the initial traffic stop, all of the evidence obtained by the prosecution may be suppressed. If the incriminating statement was made while denying the motorist's fifth amendment right to remain silent, then it may be possible to suppress it. In general, those who are stopped by the police for any reason should avoid talking to officers except when providing identification information.
Another difficulty that is encountered by the Utah DUI lawyer is when the defendant fails the field sobriety test. A normal driver in good physical condition should have no problems passing this test. As the number of failures during the test increases, the higher the probability that the motorist was drunk. The best thing for defendants to do when requested by the police officer to take a field sobriety test is to decline it. There is nothing that the police officer can do to compel the motorist to take the test. However, the police officer still may arrest anyway. But that is another piece of evidence that the prosecutor will not have.
In Utah, it is possible to refuse the breathalyzer test. However, there may be severe consequences for doing so. First of all, it is possible to refuse prior to arrest for DUI. But the driver's license suspension for refusal to test can be quite long with a minimum suspension of 18 months for a first time offender. On the other hand, the prosecutor no longer has the evidence from a breathalyzer test or blood test since the defendant refused to take the test at the time of arrest. Nevertheless, it will be challenging for the Utah DUI lawyer to prevent the long driver's license suspension for failure to take the test. And the defendant may still be convicted of driving under the influence anyway.
Finally, illegal driving infractions caught on the police car's are a major problem for the Utah DUI lawyer. It provides a reason for the police officer to make a stop. And it is circumstantial evidence that the defendant may be drunk. Any traffic violations will not help the DUI case.
The job of the DUI lawyer can be difficult. There are a lot of things that defendants often do to hurt their case including incriminating statements, taking the field sobriety test, and poor driving prior to the traffic stop. However, a good DUI attorney sees all of these things frequently. The attorney will do his or her best to overcome these difficulties so that the defendant can get the charges minimized or dismissed.
