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Witness testimony can be an essential piece of evidence in DUI cases, so your Alpharetta DUI lawyer must carefully consider which witnesses they call.
Lay witnesses provide facts for juries to consider, while expert witnesses offer opinions for them to consider as well. An expert witness may help your defense by showing that breath test results may not be reliable due to improper calibration or medical conditions like diabetes that cause symptoms similar to field sobriety tests.
Police Officers
Police officers are highly trained to look out for signs that indicate someone may be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and use these observations as the cornerstone of their DUI cases. Thus, having an experienced Georgia DUI lawyer on your side to challenge their testimony and methods of operation is vitally important for defending against DUI accusations.
An officer may initiate a DUI investigation when he observes various behaviors such as driving outside of their lane, reckless driving, lane drifting at unsafe speeds, hitting or nearly striking objects, slow responses to traffic signals and sudden speed changes. Furthermore, police will closely observe your behavior at the scene: for example he will watch to see if you appear confused, unsteady on your feet or have slurred speech; look out for bloodshot eyes; smell the odor of alcohol on either your breath or person as indicators.
Officers will ask a series of questions to attempt to coerce you into admitting you have consumed alcohol or drugs, such as inquiring about your destination, where you were coming from and whether you had been drinking with friends that night. He may try and get you to confess by suggesting something like “I have been having drinks with friends”. Since Georgia law mandates actual physical control over a vehicle at the time of arrest for DUI charges, officers will testify that you were indeed driving when they stopped you.
Expert Witnesses
Expert witnesses, unlike lay witnesses, can provide both facts and opinions to a jury for consideration. A DUI expert witness could testify about the scientific evidence supporting field sobriety tests, studies that correlate their results with impairment, how breath testing machines operate or offer opinions as to whether certain medications or drugs might impair driving ability.
Defense attorneys must take extra precaution when selecting expert witnesses for their cases. When selecting one as a testimony witness, it’s crucial that they possess relevant qualifications and experience, including advanced degrees in relevant fields, extensive knowledge of Georgia DUI laws and testing methods used by law enforcement, as well as being capable of clearly conveying complex information.
An expert witness can assist a defense attorney in challenging the prosecution’s evidence. For example, they could explain why they believe a police officer acted improperly during a traffic stop, as well as factors that might have had an effect on test results, such as lighting or distractions.
An Alpharetta DUI attorney with expertise can use expert testimony to undermine the prosecution’s case against their clients, while also using eyewitness testimony from passengers, bartenders, or others who saw what occurred and can bolster their defense’s case – including passengers not directly involved with the incident itself.
Eyewitnesses
Eyewitness testimony can often play a decisive role in DUI cases. From friends observing you exit a bar, club, or concert to witnesses at the scene of an accident where you were involved, eyewitness testimonies can have an immense influence over proceedings against DUI suspects.
Georgia DUI lawyers can ensure that any eyewitness testimony provided to the defense by witnesses is thoroughly assessed and challenged wherever possible. Witnesses can provide vital context, such as how the driver looked immediately following being pulled over, or may provide details that help form an alternative explanation for traffic stops or test results.
DUI cases often call for expert witnesses to provide expert insight on the scientific basis behind law enforcement testing methods such as breathalyzers, blood tests and field sobriety tests used by them. By offering impartial insight into their methodology, an expert witness can raise reasonable doubt about its accuracy and reliability among jurors.
An expert witness is invaluable when it comes to investigating cases involving serious injury or death from DUIs, explaining the effects of various substances on driving abilities as well as issues in investigations such as improper calibration of breathalyzers or medical conditions that prevent people from providing reliable blood samples.
Regular Witnesses
Witnesses to your traffic stop or arrest may also be called into testimony for court. These include yourself and any passengers in your car as well as police officers involved with DUI investigations (like those conducting your breath test), workers handling evidence ( such as technicians administering blood and urine tests), as well as others with direct ties to the case.
Alpharetta DUI lawyers often rely on key witnesses from the State’s case as evidence in court proceedings, and their testimony will have an immense influence over jurors. Your Alpharetta DUI lawyer has various ways of challenging their statements through cross-examination to defeat these witnesses’ testimony and help secure you a positive verdict from jurors.
Your attorney can also use any available video recordings of events leading up to and following your DUI arrest, available via discovery process allowing them to review incident reports filed by officers who arrested you.
If you are facing an administrative license suspension action, your Alpharetta DUI lawyer must also secure witnesses. As this matter is civil in nature and litigated separately from your criminal DUI case, they will need to request a hearing with Georgia Department of Driver Services so as to challenge an Officer’s decision to administratively suspend your driving privileges.
