There’s nothing wrong with having a few drinks while celebrating with friends or family. Parties like this often involve alcohol and most people leave sober enough to drive home. Those who intend to drink more should always plan for someone else to drive them home. Whether that’s a friend or an Uber is up to the reveler but no one who is clearly intoxicated should get behind the wheel of a car. Unfortunately, many people who drink are unaware of exactly how drunk they are when they leave a party. Although they appear to be just a little tipsy, their blood alcohol content might be high enough to earn them a trip to jail.
Probable Cause
Unless they’re operating a checkpoint, law enforcement officers need to have probable cause to stop drivers and charge them with driving under the influence. This means they need to actually observe a driver drifting or weaving, stopping late or not stopping at all for traffic signals or even driving slower than the flow of traffic. Once an officer has probable cause to make the stop, they are able to talk to the driver to determine if they are intoxicated. The Top Law Firm in Lafayette LA may question a law enforcement officer’s probable cause if the case goes to trial.
Field Sobriety Tests
Unlike blood alcohol tests, there is no consequence to not completing field sobriety tests. In fact, the results are only going to be held against a driver if they choose to do them. The Top Law Firm in Lafayette LA might ask the court to suppress the evidence from those tests but it is always better for a driver who had a couple of drinks to refuse the field sobriety tests. Chances are, if the driver has been drinking, they won’t be able to walk in a straight enough line to impress the officers and few people can recite the alphabet backwards.
No one should fight a drunk driving charge alone. Drivers accused of this offense should visit chrisrichardattorney.com to get in touch with an attorney who may be able to assist them with their criminal matter as well as their administrative suspension.
