Brentwood DUI Lawyer

Was There Probable Cause? 

Even if the fairly low standards of reasonable suspicion are meant, the police officer must still have had probable cause to administer the BAC test. Drivers are protected by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prevents unlawful search and seizure. That includes a BAC test and meeting the standards of the Fourth Amendment requires probable cause.

If a driver allows that yes, they have been drinking, that can be probable cause—which is why declining to answer any questions is an option the driver has during a police stop. If the officer smells alcohol on the driver’s breath or sees telltale signs, such as beer cans or a wine bottle in the vehicle, that can meet the standard of probable cause. 

A police officer may also use the field sobriety test to establish probable cause. If this was the basis for ordering the BAC test, it’s at least worth further investigation by our Brentwood DUI lawyer. People perform these subjective tests at different levels of effectiveness when perfectly sober. It is possible to subpoena the dashboard camera footage that police officers will have been obliged to record in order to review the test and find out if there was probable cause. 

If it turns out reasonable suspicion or probable cause were lacking, then everything that happened after that must be thrown out of court. This is true in all criminal law cases. In a DUI case, if the authorities can’t introduce the BAC level test in court, it’s unlikely they have anything else to hold the defendant on. But even if the test was validly administered, there are still options for the defense. 

Contact Fancher Law Firm by calling (615) 212-2297 or by filling out our online contact form today. 

Was the Breath Test Accurate? 

The breathalyzer machine that police use is not an infallible instrument, incapable of error. To begin with, it must be properly maintained. The police are obliged to regularly calibrate their breathalyzer equipment and to document they have done so. 

Furthermore, even if the equipment is up to standard, there are still ways a breath test can record a “false high”. Routine, everyday medications like cough medicine can make a person appear intoxicated when they are not. Routine, everyday foods like sweets and bread can cause a BAC reading to be inaccurately high. Routine, everyday health conditions like acid reflux can also produce an inaccurate result. It is simply far easier than people realize for a breath test to be wrong. 

It’s quite unlikely the District Attorney’s office will inform a driver of this if they have “blown” a 0.8 or higher. But Fancher law Firm will. 

Was the Blood Test Accurate? 

A blood test won’t be impacted by the conditions noted above ,but there are other reasons to investigate this method of proof. A blood test may have been done with a swab that has alcohol on it. Suffice it to say, that could impact the results. 

The results of the blood test must also be stored properly. Every step in the chain of custody must be documented. If this is not done, the test can be thrown out. This is no mere “technicality”—as though constitutional rights and legal protections could ever be reduced to a “technicality”. But it also has practical impact—blood stored for too long can ferment and result in a higher BAC level than is accurate. 

The Legal Representation You Can Trust

Everyone has the right to justice and to due process. Fancher Law Firm was founded for that very purpose. 

Call our office today at (615) 212-2297 or contact us online to set up a consultation. We serve both the English and Spanish-speaking communities.