Potential Defenses to DUI Charges in Jacksonville [Part I]
Many people that are arrested for DUI in Jacksonville presume that an arrest for DUI leads almost invariably to a DUI conviction. Approximately half of all DUI cases that proceed to trial result in an acquittal with many more cases never making it that far because the charges are dismissed prior to trial or reduced to a lesser offense. While you may be appointed a public defender, public defenders are often buried with massive caseloads and limited resources. At Musca Law, we have the resources and time to investigate our clients Jacksonville DUI case and develop the most effective defense strategies. Example of some of the strategies that Jacksonville DUI defense attorney John Musca may employ to protect your freedom, reputation and future include the following:
Challenging Jacksonville DUI Stop: Jacksonville DUI authorities generally may not pull you over for no reason or on a mere hunch. The officer must be able to satisfy the legal standard of “reasonable suspicion” which typically will be the officer’s direct observations of traffic violations or other erratic or unsafe driving. While this standard is much easier to meet than the probable cause needed for a DUI arrest, the standard is not illusionary and does require the officer to produce facts rather than mere opinion or speculation. For example, one court found that a driver crossing the centerline on a single occasion and making a wide turn into a driveway did not meet the reasonable suspicion standard. If a police officer does not have reasonable suspicion when making the initial vehicle stop, Jacksonville DUI defense attorney John Musca may be able to file a motion to suppress all evidence that flows from the stop.
Challenging the Accuracy of a Law Enforcement Officer: Even if you are legally stopped, the Jacksonville police officer cannot shift from a routine traffic stop to a DUI investigation unless there is reasonable suspicion that you are driving under the influence. If you are pulled over for illegal window tinting, for example, this will justify stopping you to issue a traffic citation but does not provide any evidence of intoxication. The officer will carefully observe a motorist when stopped in Jacksonville for evidence of signs of intoxication. However, the types of physical characteristics often referenced by law enforcement officers include bloodshot watery eyes and slurred speech which can be no more than evidence of fatigue or illness. The other observation also frequently referenced is the odor of alcohol. This evidence also is questionable because the law only prohibits drinking enough alcohol that one’s driving faculties are impaired or one’s blood alcohol level exceeds .08 percent alcohol. When John Musca represents a person facing DUI charges in Jacksonville, he aggressively challenges these observations so that inconsistencies are exposed and the judge or jury understands the many other explanations that exist for this type of physical characteristic.
These are examples of areas that Jacksonville DUI lawyer John Musca may attack even prior to the stage that a DUI investigation is initiated by a Jacksonville police officer. These examples of Jacksonville DUI defense strategies that may be effective even before considering attacks on blood alcohol concentration (BAC) tests and field sobriety tests that are examined in Part II of this article. If you have been arrested for a Florida DUI, you should not delay because the sooner you contact our experienced Florida DUI defense lawyers the sooner we can start fighting for you. We invite you to contact a Jacksonville DUI defense attorney at Musca Law to schedule a free confidential consultation at (800) 687-2252 to learn how we can fight to protect your future.
