Many people think that because they were in fact drunk (or high) at the time of their DUI arrest, that there is no hope for their case. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Even if you are intoxicated, the police cannot violate your constitutional rights or their own internal procedures. If they do, the remedy is the suppression or exclusion of any evidence they gathered, which will always result in a more favorable outcome in your case.
The Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals recently affirmed this truth, holding that because police did not properly administer the Field Sobriety Tests (“FSTs”), the defendant in that case should never have been arrested. The court found that even though the defendant admitted drinking, had empty beer bottles in his car, and smelled of alcohol, the officer did not have probable cause to arrest him for DUI because he relied on the defendant’s performance on the FSTs, but the tests were invalid. S. Euclid v. Bautista-Avila, 2015-Ohio-3236.
If you’ve been charged with DUI, call my office. Even if you’re guilty, it’s still possible to get your charges reduced or even dismissed.