Every Drinking While Intoxicated arrest takes place after following four steps – first, there is a traffic stop. Then, the person gets tested for sobriety. The next step is a review of the DWI questionnaire and last but not the least; the person who allegedly committed the DWI crime gets the opportunity to test his or her breath. It is important that your DWI Attorney Houston be skilled in these four steps so that they can help reduce the charges against you.
DWI Traffic Stop
The police hang out in the parking lots that are located next to popular bars so that they can catch suspected drunk drivers. The police should not simply arrest or detain someone, who has walked out of a bar. They must observe whether any minor traffic infraction has been committed by any of the individuals walking out of the bar in order to arrest them. Most of the Driving While Intoxicated investigations begin only when someone touches the center line on the highway or fails to turn on their turn signal while changing lanes. Fortunately, many police cars have video cameras that can take videos of the traffic infractions that lead to a traffic stop. A good DWI Attorney Houston can review the facts in the video to determine whether there was a traffic violation or not. If the police officer was wrong, your lawyer can ask the case to be dismissed by asking the court to suppress the evidence against you.
The DWI Sobriety Tests
In order to determine whether you are really able to drive, the officer will ask you to participate in some field sobriety tests. These split attention tests are as follows – 1) the nystagmus test, 2) the walk and turn test, and 3) one legged stand test. These are not designed to test your BAC or Blood Alcohol Content. Since reciting the alphabet backwards or placing a finger on your nose is of no evidentiary value, the police prefer taking these 3 tests. The nystagmus test involves tracking of the movement of your pupils. It is also known popularly as the “pen test.” The police officers track the movement of your eye till the “maximum deviation” is reached. In other words, they test you to see how far you can follow an object before you feel the need to turn your head. In case of a sober person, the pupils will move and track the object till it reaches “maximum deviation.” The police would like to see whether your pupils act erratically or jerk. The police will conduct the horizontal nystagmus test on the person they suspect is driving under the influence of alcohol. Only a qualified DWI lawyer will be able to tell whether this test has been done properly. If the world were perfect, your lawyer would have been able to defend your case based solely on the video. However, when the video is lacking, he or she can always ask the police officer how his or her client fared in the field sobriety tests. The other two tests are split activity tests that require you to simultaneously perform a physical and a mental activity. These tests are designed such that you would meet with failure when you try them out. A good DWI lawyer would be able to point out in the court whether you performed well in these tests or not.
The DWI Questionnaire
This is the most important part of the case and can turn a case that is otherwise defensible into a conviction. Do not make the mistake of thinking that this is just a questionnaire that has to be filled by the police officer. It is an interrogation. The officer will ask you certain questions that will help the officer prove whether you were driving while intoxicated or not. You will be asked whether you were the one on the wheel. You will be asked where you are coming from and whether you have any medical conditions that the police officer needs to know about. You will also be asked how much you had to drink if you drank before driving. The officer will also ask you the time-frame between the time you had to drink and the time you began to drive. Many people, who have undergone the sobriety tests before, will inform you that they were never advised of their rights well beforehand. Next, the officer will ask you to take a breath test.
The Breath Test
Last but not the least; the breath test will be administered. Here, the driver will blow into an electronic device that is capable of measuring the blood alcohol content of a person. Most states require that this test be taken by the driver. The machine that records the BAC or the Blood Alcohol Content can sometimes have errors. If your lawyer is good, he or she will be able to prove the police officer wrong and have the case dismissed.
DWI Traffic Stop
The police hang out in the parking lots that are located next to popular bars so that they can catch suspected drunk drivers. The police should not simply arrest or detain someone, who has walked out of a bar. They must observe whether any minor traffic infraction has been committed by any of the individuals walking out of the bar in order to arrest them. Most of the Driving While Intoxicated investigations begin only when someone touches the center line on the highway or fails to turn on their turn signal while changing lanes. Fortunately, many police cars have video cameras that can take videos of the traffic infractions that lead to a traffic stop. A good DWI Attorney Houston can review the facts in the video to determine whether there was a traffic violation or not. If the police officer was wrong, your lawyer can ask the case to be dismissed by asking the court to suppress the evidence against you.
The DWI Sobriety Tests
In order to determine whether you are really able to drive, the officer will ask you to participate in some field sobriety tests. These split attention tests are as follows – 1) the nystagmus test, 2) the walk and turn test, and 3) one legged stand test. These are not designed to test your BAC or Blood Alcohol Content. Since reciting the alphabet backwards or placing a finger on your nose is of no evidentiary value, the police prefer taking these 3 tests. The nystagmus test involves tracking of the movement of your pupils. It is also known popularly as the “pen test.” The police officers track the movement of your eye till the “maximum deviation” is reached. In other words, they test you to see how far you can follow an object before you feel the need to turn your head. In case of a sober person, the pupils will move and track the object till it reaches “maximum deviation.” The police would like to see whether your pupils act erratically or jerk. The police will conduct the horizontal nystagmus test on the person they suspect is driving under the influence of alcohol. Only a qualified DWI lawyer will be able to tell whether this test has been done properly. If the world were perfect, your lawyer would have been able to defend your case based solely on the video. However, when the video is lacking, he or she can always ask the police officer how his or her client fared in the field sobriety tests. The other two tests are split activity tests that require you to simultaneously perform a physical and a mental activity. These tests are designed such that you would meet with failure when you try them out. A good DWI lawyer would be able to point out in the court whether you performed well in these tests or not.
The DWI Questionnaire
This is the most important part of the case and can turn a case that is otherwise defensible into a conviction. Do not make the mistake of thinking that this is just a questionnaire that has to be filled by the police officer. It is an interrogation. The officer will ask you certain questions that will help the officer prove whether you were driving while intoxicated or not. You will be asked whether you were the one on the wheel. You will be asked where you are coming from and whether you have any medical conditions that the police officer needs to know about. You will also be asked how much you had to drink if you drank before driving. The officer will also ask you the time-frame between the time you had to drink and the time you began to drive. Many people, who have undergone the sobriety tests before, will inform you that they were never advised of their rights well beforehand. Next, the officer will ask you to take a breath test.
The Breath Test
Last but not the least; the breath test will be administered. Here, the driver will blow into an electronic device that is capable of measuring the blood alcohol content of a person. Most states require that this test be taken by the driver. The machine that records the BAC or the Blood Alcohol Content can sometimes have errors. If your lawyer is good, he or she will be able to prove the police officer wrong and have the case dismissed.
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