DEFENSES TO DWI
There are several potential defenses to DWI. A few of the more common defenses include the following:
Twenty minute defense. The police officer administering the Alcotest must observe the suspect at the police station in the DWI room for at least 20 consecutive minutes prior to taking breath samples to ensure that there was no vomiting, belching, gum chewing, foreign items in the mouth, or anything else that could compromise the validity of the Alcotest test results. A good defense attorney will obtain all tapes and records from police dispatch to determine if based upon the timing of the arrest and the breath testing the police could not have possibly observed the suspect for 20 minutes at the police station before breath tests commenced.
Loss of evidence. If the dispatch audio tape or the videotape of the roadside field sobriety tests or other potentially exculpatory evidence is lost or destroyed by the state then an application may be made to the court to dismiss the charges.
Speedy trial defense. If a case takes an unusually long time before reaching trial then a motion to dismiss the charges may be made based on different factors including the length of the delay, the reason for the delay, and prejudice to the accused by the delay.
Motions to suppress evidence. Whenever the police conduct an arrest or a search without a warrant there may be issues that there was no probable cause for the police to have made the arrest or search. Attorneys usually file motions to suppress and argue that the police did not have a valid reason to stop the vehicle as there was no legitimate traffic violation and/or there was no probable cause for the DWI arrest or search and all evidence seized should be suppressed under the case law which would result in dismissal of the DWI case.
Attorney Steven D. Rothblatt has the expertise, knowledge, and experience to help you and defend you if charged with any type of DWI offense.
