Drunk driving is referred to as driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI). DUI is defined operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. This may include sitting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle while intoxicated. According to New Jersey criminal law, a person is legally intoxicated depending on their blood alcohol content (BAC) level. If the level is .08 percent or higher, they are over the legal driving limit. BAC is the level of alcohol in the body’s bloodstream.
A person who is accused or arrested for DUI should seek the help of drunk driving defense attorneys immediately. Their defense attorney team will listen to the facts of the case and determine the best drunk driving defenses to use.
What is a Drunk Driving Defense Strategy?
A drunk driving defense strategy is a way a specific defense use to challenge a prosecutor’s case. The strategy can also destroy the prosecutor’s case. The strategy is created based on facts and circumstances involved in the arrest. It may include witnesses and expert testimony. However, it generally includes a criminal defense.
Affirmative Defense to Use in a DUI Charge
An affirmative defense is a way to attack the state’s evidence based on the evidence. It involves giving some support to the prosecutor’s evidence. However, it goes a step further to claim there was a reason for the drunk driving.
One necessity is one defense. Necessity occurs when a person must drive drunk to prevent a greater evil from occurring. This means the driver had no other option, but to drive drunk. Another defense is duress. With duress, the defendant drives drunk to avoid death or serious injury from happening. For example, a person was forced to drive at gunpoint by a criminal.
Involuntary intoxication is the defense that the defendant ingested alcohol without their knowledge. For instance, their drink was spiked with liquor and they didn’t know it.
Common New Jersey Drunk Driving Defenses
Common DUI defenses are used the most unlike affirmative defenses. Common defenses range from claiming the arresting officer did something wrong like an improper stop. It also includes claiming total innocence. This means the defendant wasn’t legally drunk at the time of the traffic stop.
Rising blood alcohol concentration is a defense that claim the BAC was below New Jersey’s legal limit while the defendant was driving. Their BAC increased between the time they started operating a motor vehicle to the time of the traffic stop. This is a possible defense because it takes the body some time to fully absorb into the bloodstream.
Many Common Defenses are Available to a Drunk Driving Defendant
Improper police action is a defense that police violated the defendant’s civil rights, acted improperly or faked a DUI report. Another defense is that the defendant wasn’t operating the motor vehicle at the time of the accident or traffic stop. The purpose of contacting a defense attorney is to create a strong defense to prove a person’s innocence or get a not guilty verdict.
