Need a Michigan DUI / drunk driving lawyer?
DUI is one of the few criminal offenses where you do not have the right to speak to an attorney before incriminating yourself. Upon arrest, the police officer will advise you that you have “expressly consented” to submitting to a chemical test of your breath or blood by driving on the public roadways of Michigan. Which test are you willing to take, breath or blood? If you choose to refuse a chemical test, your license will be revoked for a minimum of one year. Keep in mind you do not have the right to consult or speak with an attorney before choosing a test.
Upon submitting to a test, you have now provided incriminating evidence against yourself. So not only do you not have a right to speak with an attorney before choosing a test, but upon taking a test you have now provided incriminating evidence that will be used against you. Because of the “DUI Exception” to the Constitution defending DUI cases are difficult and require the skill and knowledge of a competent Michigan DUI attorney.
What You Need To Know About Your Legal Rights If You Are Being Pulled Over For DUI
- You do not have to help the officers make a case against you.
- Anything you say (admission of drinking) or do (roadside maneuvers) can and will be used against you.
- Field Sobriety Tests are completely voluntary. You do not have to do these!
- You have the choice of breath, blood or refusal.
- You do not have the right to speak with an attorney before choosing.
- Refusing a chemical test carries a mandatory minimum one year revocation of your driving privileges.
- Blood tests can be re-tested. Breath tests cannot.
- Roadside breath tests or portable breath tests (PBTs) are voluntary. They cannot be used to prove guilt or innocence in court, but can be used as evidence to support an arrest.
- If you refused the breath test after being arrested for DUI you only have fourteen (14) days to request a hearing to to protect your driving privileges and avoid an automatic one year suspension of your driver’s license.
Michigan OWVI Defense
The potential penalties for a conviction, even if it’s a first offense, can be extremely serious. Having the right attorney can make all the difference; and our attorneys have obtained outstanding results for our clients. There are a number of legal defenses and ways to defend DUI charges; it is even possible to defeat a OWVI case.
Some think the deck is stacked against them in a OWVI case. However, there are a number of legal defenses and it’s even possible to defeat a DUI case. Some of these defenses include:
- 1. No Probable Cause for the Stop – The easiest way to defeat a drunk driving case is if there was no probable cause for the initial stop. A police officer cannot stop you for no reason or just because it’s late at night; the officer must have probable cause for the stop. If there was an insufficient basis for a stop, everything that happened after the stop is inadmissible. Thus, if there was no valid stop, there is no valid case. A case involving an invalid stop will be dismissed altogether.
- 2. PBT Inadmissible – It must be noted that the PBT test or breath test when it was given at your car, or it is inadmissible at trial. Therefore, if that test was over a .08, but there is no subsequent test over .08, your case could be won at trial.
- 3. You Chemical Test rights were Not Read – If the police officer fails to read you your chemical test rights, then the BAC (bodily alcohol content) result can be excluded from the evidence.
- 4. Machine was Faulty or Inaccurate – Datamaster machines are not foolproof, mistakes are made and the machine does not always work properly, such can be a possible defense in your case.
- Operating While Visibly Impaired – OWVI
- Operating While Visibly Impaired – OWVI is when your ability to operate a motor vehicle was visibly impaired due to alcohol or drugs.
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