101 Ways to Avoid an Orlando DUI Conviction! Part 8 of 10.
DUI arrests and DUI convictions can have serious consequences, both immediate and in the future. When people speak with me, they are most often looking for advice on how to avoid a DUI arrest or how to avoid a DUI arrest turning into a DUI conviction. 101 Ways to Avoid a Drunk Driving Conviction by William C. Head, Esq. and Reese I. Joye, Jr., Esq. is a great resource to both questions and will be featured in a 10 part blog series here on the FL DUI Group Blog. The eighth part features ways 71-80 to avoid an Orlando DUI conviction.
71. Where the prosecution uses a witness to try to establish that you had a higher BAC at the time of driving (by using retrograde extrapolation techniques), such testimony should be attacked based on the witness’ lack of knowledge about your rate of elimination, timing of the drinking period, strength of the alcoholic beverage, and other variables which will affect the Widmark curve.
72. Always get the names, addresses and telephone numbers of potentially beneficial witnesses regarding your appearance of sobriety at the police station, or during the time your were receiving your independent tests. These witnesses may help your attorney build your defense.
73. Whenever submitting to the state’s BAC tests, always ask the test operator to preserve a sample of the breath, urine or blood so that the sample can be independently tested later.
74. Where a single breath test is utilized by the state, your attorney may be able to assert due process and equal protection arguments that may convince an appeals court that the state’s use of one test is constitutionally infirm, particularly where no sample is preserved after your request for same.
75. For blood tests, most states only permit highly-trained medical personnel to collect blood samples. Challenging the person’s qualifications or certification can result in the BAC test results being excluded.
76. The state must prove that the laboratory or hospital which analyzed your blood sample used properly trained personnel to collect the sample. Sometimes, winning on this point is as simple as filing a motion to dismiss or a motion for directed verdict as a result of the prosecutor failing to introduce the proper evidence of the technician’s training, which will cause the person’s testimony to be totally excluded.
77. When obtaining your independent tests, be certain that the laboratory analyzes whole blood and not plasma. Whenever plasma is tested, the results can be as much as 20% higher than when whole blood is utilized.
78. Always ask for “split” samples on blood tests so that an unaltered portion can be later tested to determine unusual hematocrit or other atypical conditions of your blood.
79. If you have not yet been permitted to call an attorney, ask for permission to do so after you are booked. Every state allows attorney contact at this stage.
80. Don’t talk with fellow detainees or police personnel about your arrest for DUI. Only speak with your attorney unless he advises you to discuss matters with other persons.
Related: Ladder Hazards On NYC Construction Sites
Excerpted from the book, 101 Ways to Avoid a Drunk Driving Conviction by William C. Head, Esq. and Reese I. Joye, Jr., Esq.
Copyright 1991 by William C. Head and Reese I. Joye, Jr. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit, except with written permission, but may be freely distributed electronically provided that the entire file, including this notice, remains intact.
