University Place DUI Lawyer
A DUI can disrupt your life in multiple unpleasant ways. Not only may you face expensive fines and uncomfortable legal penalties, but you might also face serious social backlash from your friends and neighbors. The best way to deal with a DUI is to hire an experienced lawyer to help you.
You may be charged with a DUI if the police pull you over and suspect you are intoxicated. They may notice a smell of alcohol or slurred speech and administer field sobriety tests or a roadside breath test. Alternatively, you may be charged if the police can prove you had a high blood alcohol concentration (BAC) within 2 hours of driving. A key element in DUI cases is that you must have “actual physical control” over the vehicle, which does not necessarily mean that the car must be moving or even on.
Call our DUI lawyers at the Law Offices of Smith & White at (253) 525-8036 and ask for a free, private case evaluation to get started.
How You Can Be Charged with a DUI
Being charged for driving under the influence (DUI) may happen under numerous conditions. According to R.C.W. § 46.61.502(1), you may be charged after routine traffic stops or if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) indicates you were intoxicated within 2 hours of having operated a car.
Many DUIs stem from ordinary traffic stops. You may be charged if you are stopped for any valid reason and the police believe you are under the influence of alcohol, cannabis, or any intoxicating drug or a combined influence of drugs and alcohol.
In some cases, people are charged some time after driving. You may face charges if you have, within 2 hours of driving, a BAC of at least .08, as shown by chemical testing. If you are charged in relation to cannabis or marijuana, you must have a THC concentration of 5.00 or higher within 2 hours of driving, as shown by blood testing.
The police might not arrest someone while they are driving but have probable cause to believe that they were recently driving while intoxicated. For example, if the police notice someone who appears visibly intoxicated in a parked car, they may investigate to see if that person was driving.
Having Actual Physical Control of a Car During a DUI
A key element in almost any DUI case is the defendant’s “actual physical control” over the vehicle. If this element is not present, the defendant should not be charged with a DUI.
According to R.C.W. § 46.61.504(1), a person may be charged with a DUI if they have a BAC of at least .08 or a THC concentration of at least 5.00 within 2 hours of having actual physical control over a motor vehicle.
What is actual physical control? In short, having actual physical control means you are driving a vehicle when the police stop you, or you are in a position where you may operate the vehicle while you are intoxicated. The vehicle does not have to be moving or even on for a person to have actual physical control.
You may be deemed to have actual physical control if you are in the driver’s seat with the keys in the ignition or even just on your person. If you are in the backseat and the keys are in the glove box, proving actual physical control may be more difficult for prosecutors.
Ultimately, this factor is hard to pin down and can vary across DUI incidents. It is best to ask an attorney for help.
How to Fight DUIs in University Place
How our DUI lawyers challenge your charges will depend on how you are charged and the alleged facts surrounding the case. Your attorney should help you develop the most effective legal strategies possible for your case.
Challenge Chemical Testing
Chemical testing results are an extremely important piece of evidence for prosecutors, and we might fight your DUI if we have a reason why the chemical testing results should not be trusted.
If the chemical testing equipment was faulty, the results may be inaccurate and should not be trusted in court. We can ask to see records of how the testing equipment was maintained and calibrated by the police. If these records indicate the equipment was not in good condition to be used for testing, we may challenge your BAC results.
Another possibility is that the chemical testing results should be excluded from the case because they were obtained in violation of your rights. While post-arrest chemical testing is required by law, it must not be forced by the police.
According to R.C.W. § 46.20.308(3), if a driver refuses to submit to chemical testing, no test shall be administered unless otherwise authorized by law. If the police make you submit to testing despite your refusal, tell your lawyer immediately.
Challenge Actual Physical Control
If you do not have actual physical control over a vehicle, you should not be charged. Having actual physical control is a key element in DUI cases.
Common scenarios where actual physical control does not exist include being intoxicated inside a vehicle but you are not in the driver’s seat and do not have the keys. This often arises in cases where individuals choose to sleep in their cars rather than drive home after a night out.
Lack of Probable Cause to Arrest
To execute an arrest, the police must have “probable cause,” which includes articulable evidence suggesting that a crime has been committed and the suspect likely committed it. If no such probable cause existed, we might be able to challenge certain aspects of your case.
If the police arrested you for a DUI without probable cause, we may challenge evidence they obtained pursuant to the unlawful arrest, including chemical testing results. If the arrest itself was illegal, evidence obtained pursuant to the illegal arrest may be considered tainted.
Speak to Our University Place DUI Attorneys About Your Case Now
Call our DUI lawyers at the Law Offices of Smith & White at (253) 525-8036 and ask for a free, private case evaluation to get started.