Even if You are Seen Driving, You May Be Entitled To Challenge the Lawfulness of the Traffic Stop.

The first reason you need a lawyer if you are arrested for  of DUI is that when you are arrested for drunk driving, the prosecution has the burden of proof that you were lawfully stopped in the first place.  An experienced lawyer should always review the arrest or accident report and see if you were stopped in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution which prohibits the police from stopping your car unless the stop was reasonable.  For example, if you drover over a fog line once, there may not be probable cause for the traffic stop and you should ask the judge to “suppress the stop and all evidence obtained from the stop”.

In those cases when the driver want to exercise his or her constitutional rights to challenge the stop, the driver should make the prosecution prove that the stop was lawful in court. You are always entitled to a hearing before a judge so that you can challenge the lawfulness of the stop—even if you are guilty the prosecution must prove you were arrested legally.   At the hearing you have the right to suppress any evidence obtained from the illegal stop which includes DUI field sobriety tests results, statements and even the blood/breath/urine test results.   If you can’t challenge the lawfulness of the traffic stop, what should you do next?