DUIs are not always as straightforward as people believe them to be. There are a variety of factors that could influence someone’s blood alcohol content at any given moment. Furthermore, your blood alcohol content can rise as you are driving, resulting in a BAC that is higher than it would have been if you had been tested before you started driving. Being tested as your blood alcohol level rises can lead to inaccurate results which could then be used to build a DUI case against you. That is where a skilled attorney could come in. If you want to know more about using rising blood alcohol as a defense in West Palm Beach DUI cases, speak with a knowledgeable DUI lawyer that could answer your questions.
Evidence When Building a Rising BAC Defense
Judges and jurors find evidence just as persuasive as arguments, especially when using rising blood alcohol as a defense in West Palm Beach DUI cases. Evidence can come from witnesses, and it can come from the digital evidence presented in the case as well as the physical evidence of maybe the breath test if the results are trending upward. A reasonable doubt can also come from the lack of evidence.
Digital Evidence
Most DUIs are recorded on a digital camera so if they have digital evidence where the defendant does not look impaired but then, an hour and a half later, looks further impaired and more impaired and then blows over the legal limit, there is a good argument for that and also, factually, depending upon what evidence can be produced by the client or a West Palm Beach DUI attorney as far as bar receipts or people that were with their client to say what they had to drink, and how much they had to drink, and when they had it.
Physical Evidence
Physical evidence can also be quite persuasive. If the defense has testimony from witnesses that know what the defendant did and when they did it, that would help bolster the defense’s case. The evidence could show that the accused was not over the legal limit at the time that they were stopped and, rather, it was rising while they were stopped and being investigated and after the person plateaued, they took the test and that the test. All of this information verifies that the test is not an accurate representation of what their blood alcohol level was at the time that they were driving.
How Rising Blood Alcohol Defenses Work
The way that a defense attorney uses rising blood alcohol as a defense in West Palm Beach DUI cases is, if a person blew, some use it as if a crime is committed only when the person’s blood alcohol level is above the legal limit at the time of the stop. An attorney can help the clients by arguing that they were not over the legal limit at the time of the stop, that they may have failed the breath test at the time they gave the test which is typically within an hour and two hours after the stop but that that is not an accurate reflection as to what the blood alcohol level was at the time the person was driving.
It is not illegal to have an unlawful blood alcohol level at the breath alcohol testing center; it is only legal to have an unlawful blood alcohol level while operating or in physical control of a motor vehicle. If the physical evidence and the test result, as well as maybe some testimonial evidence from witnesses, would support that the individual consumed the alcohol right before they stopped and did not consume the alcohol earlier that night and they see a person on the DVD when they pulled over, they are alert and oriented but then they see them an hour and a half or two hours later at a testing facility a little bit more impaired, they will be able to argue that.
Arguments a West Palm Beach DUI Attorney Might Make
When putting forth rising blood alcohol as a defense in West Palm Beach DUI cases, a local DUI lawyer would argue that the breath test results are not accurate and reliable as to the time of driving which was an hour and a half or two hours prior. They might also assert that if law enforcement had tested the person, at the scene of the crime or the scene of the stop, that that test would have been lower and would have been below the legal limit. If they think that that is possible, that is a reasonable doubt and therefore the individual is not guilty. If a person has been charged with a DUI, they should consult a skilled DUI attorney that could help them find a defense strategy that is right for them.
