How to Get Out of a DUI Misdemeanor

Get your charges reduced or dropped to avoid DUI penalties.

During 2009 there were 10,839 fatal alcohol-related car crashes in the United States according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Driving under the influence is an emotionally charged crime. A record of DUI can cause you great hardship and, depending on the state, the penalty for DUI can be harsh. Penalties can involve jail time, ignition interlock and license suspension. To avoid hardship the accused has a few options in getting the charge against him reduced or dropped.

Instructions

1. Attend your first court date and plead not guilty. You will be given another court date for a pretrial hearing where you will meet with your defense lawyer and receive a plea agreement. If the plea agreement drops your DUI charges to a lesser offense, such as reckless driving, take the plea deal and get out of your DUI.

2. Instruct your lawyer to negotiate a plea deal for reduced charges if the prosecutor does not present them at the pretrial hearing. You will receive a trial date at the pretrial hearing and this will give your lawyer time to negotiate the deal. Use common sense; you will not likely be given a reduced charge plea deal if your blood alcohol level was significantly higher than 0.08 or your DUI involved damage to people or property.

3. Go to the arresting police station, pay the applicable fee and request your police and toxicology report from the clerk. Read the police report to see why you were pulled over for DUI -- if the officer did not have probable cause then instruct your lawyer to make a motion to dismiss. Probable cause can include broken brake lights, improper lighting for the license plate, speeding, swerving, wide turns and failure to use a turn signal.

4. Look at your toxicology report to discover what method law enforcement used to get your blood alcohol level. If the police officer took your blood then remember if there could have been any contamination in taking the sample, such as the use of an alcohol swab prior to withdrawal. Bring up possible sources of contamination with your lawyer.

5. Research the breath machine used to take your breath sample. Breath machines use a standard range of deviation of plus-or-minus 10 percent. Apply the standard range of deviation percent variable to your breath results to see if your BAC (blood alcohol content) could have been under 0.08.

6. Investigate the person and machine taking your toxicology report. See if the nurse or doctor who took your blood sample is certified to do so for criminal investigations. Determine whether or not the officer was certified to take breath samples and whether or not the particular breath machine had been calibrated and certified by the state.

Tips & Warnings

• If you turn down a plea agreement you may be forced to go to trial and face maximum sentencing.

References

• Century Council: Drunk Driving Research and Statistics
• Bergman Law Office, PLLC: Breath Testing in Arizona DUI Cases
• American Bar Association: The Police and Your Rights