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Successful constitutional challenges can have a dramatic effect on any case they arise in, potentially rendering evidence inadmissible, charges being reduced or even the whole thing dismissed altogether.
An attorney may be able to have certain damaging evidence removed prior to trial by filing a pretrial motion addressing these concerns. Examples may include:
1. Traffic Stop Violations
At the core of most DUI cases lies a traffic stop. These stops may range from minor violations such as speeding to more serious offenses like failing to signal or having broken tail lights. Law enforcement may attempt to collect evidence of intoxication by questioning you or administering roadside sobriety tests; often this stop occurs because an officer has probable cause that leads them to suspect that an act has taken place and must therefore stop you.
Your criminal defense attorney must demonstrate that the officer had improper probable cause, so as to get key evidence such as statements made during traffic stops or breath test results suppressed before trial begins. A successful motion to suppress may effectively undermine the prosecution’s case against you and will doom its future success in court.
An effective motion to suppress requires assistance from an experienced Georgia DUI defense attorney who knows where and when to look for flaws in evidence.
2. Breath Test Violations
If you are arrested for DUI in Georgia, breath tests can be an essential piece of evidence; yet they’re also one of the easiest pieces to challenge at trial – making a strong defense strategy vital if charges need to be dismissed or conviction overturned.
Breathalyzers must be administered according to strict protocols in order to guarantee accuracy. Officers are required to observe you for 15 minutes prior to administering the breathalyzer to make sure no food may have caused indigestion or burping; failure to adhere to these procedures could result in grounds for moving against its results in court.
Your lawyer could also present evidence of errors or gaps in chain of custody documentation that might bring into question the authenticity of urine or blood test results. A successful defense against Title 17 violations could significantly weaken the State’s case against you in a DUI prosecution.
3. Searches and Seizures Violations
To legally search and seize evidence from someone’s home, car, or other property and obtain evidence for court cases against them, they require a valid warrant from a judge that details where and who may be searched as well as what can be taken during their search. Otherwise, any evidence gained should be excluded from prosecution against that individual.
As a Georgia DUI lawyer, I have spent years defending clients against charges that involve law enforcement’s actions during traffic stops, searches, arrests and sobriety checks. A recent article entitled Tackling Terry: Georgians’ State Constitutional Protections on Searches Seizures and Privacy proves this point perfectly; particularly relevant when applied to DUI roadblocks and sobriety checks.
Rodgers contends that federal courts have been misinterpreting Paragraph XIII in accordance with its interpretation in Terry, when its text, history and intent call for a higher threshold for suspicion than Terry’s low standard of reasonable suspicion. Fighting this battle can restore robust search and seizure protections that are crucial in DUI cases.
4. Video Surveillance Violations
As cameras become more powerful and affordable, courts are grappling with Fourth Amendment issues involving surveillance. In one case, the government was accused of violating one defendant’s privacy rights by using video footage captured from a pole camera that monitored his home for 15 hours a day for 68 days.
Some states have passed laws to regulate the use of surveillance systems. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations state that patients cannot be recorded in private areas without their prior consent, while some have all-party consent laws which mandate both parties agreeing to being recorded prior to any conversation being recorded.
If your attorney believes that circumstantial evidence was improperly gathered in your case, they can file what’s known as a motion to suppress and try to exclude that evidence from being considered at trial – potentially strengthening your defense strategy in doing so.
