Know Your Rights

What are your rights in a DUI case in Orlando?

Being arrested for DUI poses a major threat to your future. Unless you can beat the charges, you could be fined, sent to jail and have your driver's license suspended, in addition to the fact that your insurance rates would go up and you would end up with a criminal record. These penalties could damage your professional reputation and social standing and place you in severe financial difficulty. Fortunately, you do have powerful legal rights which can defend you against such an outcome, but they will do nothing for you unless you know how to use them.

Unlawful DUI Stops

Under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, you are legally protected against unreasonable search and seizure. A police officer cannot pull you over to investigate you for drunk driving without probable cause, and must be able to state clearly and specifically in court exactly why you were pulled over. It is not enough to have a hunch that you are driving drunk.

The officer must have observed you speeding, driving recklessly or committing some other traffic violation, or must have observed clear signs that you were under the influence of alcohol. Similarly, during the traffic stop there must have been a reason to require you to submit to field sobriety tests or a breathalyzer test, such as slurred speech or the odor of alcohol on your breath. If we can demonstrate that the officer violated your constitutional rights, we may be able to file a motion to suppress the evidence that was gathered illegally.

You Are Innocent Until Proven Guilty

We have all heard this well-known phrase, but it may only be now that its full meaning comes home to you. The fact is that you cannot legally be convicted until it is proven beyond a reasonable doubt that you actually committed the crime of driving under the influence. One way this may be a factor in your case is that we might be able to challenge the evidence against you.

For example, if you were arrested after failing a breath test, we can subpoena the maintenance and calibration records of the machine to determine whether the test results actually provide reliable evidence. Similarly, if the case against you rests on a failed blood test, it might be possible to invalidate the evidence by pointing to gaps in the records of the sample's chain of custody, arguing that it is not possible to verify that the sample is yours or raising questions about whether the test sample could have been contaminated. By highlighting such problems with the evidence, we might be able to have the case dismissed.

Never Talk to the Police

Another maxim is that "You have the right to remain silent," and this could never be more true than in a DUI case. By telling the police officer that you are driving home from a party, you are giving evidence that you might have been drinking, and by saying that you only had two drinks you are admitting that you did drink alcohol. You should at all times avoid speaking to the police, as well as making statements on the record in the courtroom. Instead, let an experienced defense attorney from Parks & Braxton, PA represent your case and fight for you. We have successfully defended thousands of clients on charges similar to yours, and even teach other attorneys on the subject of DUI defense. Let our zealous dedication to results work for you in this stressful situation-contact us today!