When thinking about how to present a defense on behalf of a client, a DUI lawyer may decide to present more than one. Look at why a DUI attorney might elect to do this and how it may impact your case.

Maybe There's More than One Thing Wrong with the Case

The process of charging someone with a DUI has a lot of little steps. It's well within the realm of possibility that, for example, a patrol officer lacked reasonable suspicion to justify pulling you over and also never established probable cause with the field sobriety test. Either one of those is enough to torpedo the case, but it's rare that a DUI lawyer won't fire all the ammunition they have at a flimsy charge.

Frankly, messing up several aspects of a case makes the police look like bunglers. Judges generally don't like to see cops dragging sloppy cases into their courses, and there's no reason not to paint the state's case against you in the worst possible light.

Some Defenses Are Compatible

Expanding on the previous example, suppose the police also used a faulty breathalyzer. It's unlikely that this many things went wrong during a single traffic stop, but it's not impossible. There's nothing incompatible about making what's fundamentally a civil rights claim regarding the traffic stop and a more technical argument about the faulty breathalyzer. Neither defense precludes the other, and you're welcome to present both.

The main argument against stacking these kinds of defenses is that it can look like a DUI attorney is trying to flood the zone with BS. A lawyer won't lay it on thick like this unless they have compelling evidence for the several arguments they're presenting.

Digging Often Yields Results

You have the legal right to demand discovery of every bit of evidence the police might have. By presenting multiple defenses, a DUI lawyer also opens up the opportunity to possibly find more evidence in discovery.

For example, they might demand the discovery of the video from the body-cam on the officer's uniform and the dashcam from their cruiser. At the same time, you also can demand discovery of the maintenance logs and recall history for the breathalyzer. None of these arguments is guaranteed to hit pay dirt, but each is worth a long look.

Reach out to a DUI lawyer if you've been charged to see what they can do to help you.