40 Ways to Beat A Louisiana DUI

40 Ways to Beat A Louisiana DUI

If you have been arrested for DUI or DWI in Louisiana, it is obviously cause for concern—but not for despair. By hiring a quality defense lawyer who can protect your rights, there are a host of ways your case may be defendable. That’s why it would be a good idea to consider hiring a DWI attorney now. Here’s a few ways our lawyers may be able to win your case. Even if your case involves drugs or alcohol, they will help.

1. ILLEGAL STOP OF PERSON OR VEHICLE IN LOUISIANA – a driver cannot be stopped unless the officer has a reasonable and articulate basis to believe that a traffic law or other law has been violated. Similarly, a person cannot be seized unless a violation has occurred.

2. WEAVING INSIDE THE LANES IS NOT ILLEGAL IN LOUISIANA – weaving without crossing any lines is not a violation of the law, and a vehicle cannot be stopped for that reason.

3. ANONYMOUS REPORT OF DRUNK DRIVING IN LOUISIANA – a car cannot be stopped simply because an anonymous citizen reported that the driver was drunk.

4. STANDARD FIELD SOBRIETY TESTING IS INACCURATE IN LOUISIANA – in healthy individuals, the one-leg stand test is only 65% accurate, and the walk-and-turn test is only 68% accurate in determining if a person is under the influence. Those persons with injuries, medical conditions, 50 pounds or greater overweight, and 65 years or older cannot be validly judged by these tests.

5. NON-STANDARDIZED FIELD TESTS ARE INVALID IN LOUISIANA – neither the Federal Government (NHTSA) nor medical science considers touching your finger to your nose, or saying the alphabet, or counting backwards, as valid sobriety tests.

6. BREATH TESTING IS INACCURATE IN LOUISIANA – virtually all experts concede that one breath test alone is unreliable. Breath testing is subject to various inaccuracies, including a variance as much s +/- 12.5%, non-specificity for ethanol, etc.

7. BOOKING ROOM VIDEOS IN LOUISIANA – Many police stations videotape suspects at the police station, where their speech is clear and their balance is perfect, in spite of police testimony to the contrary.

8. IN-SQUAD VIDEOS IN LOUISIANA – more and more often, the suspect’s driving and performance on field tests is being recorded; often contradicting police testimony.

9. FAILURE TO PROVIDE SPEEDY TRIAL IN LOUISIANA – If a client is not provided with a trial within a certain period of time, which varies between states, through delays of the court or prosecutor, the charges must be dismissed.

10. POLICE BLOOD TEST INACCURATE IN LOUISIANA – Many times, police blood testing fails to follow prescribed rules of testing, analysis, or preservation recommendations.

11. HOSPITAL BLOOD TEST INACCURATE IN LOUISIANA – Hospital blood tests overestimate a person’s true level by as much as 25% in healthy, uninjured individuals, and are not statistically reliable in severely injured persons.

12. BREATH TEST OPERATOR UNLICENSED IN LOUISIANA – Most states require a Breath Test Operator to possess a valid, unexpired operator’s license, or the breath test result is inadmissible.

13. BREATHALYZER MACHINE MALFUNCTIONS IN LOUISIANA – Most states specify that if there is a malfunction or repair of the breath test instrument within a certain period of time before or after a suspect’s breath test, the results of the suspect’s test are presumed invalid.

14. BREATH TEST OPERATOR LICENSE EXPIRED IN LOUISIANA – Most states require that a Breath Test Operator must possess an unexpired operator’s license, or the breath test result is inadmissible.

15. BREATH TEST DEVICE NOT APPROVED IN LOUISIANA – A breath-testing instrument must be listed on the Federal List of Approved Breath Evidential Instruments and the ISP approved list of Devices, or the results are inadmissible.

16. FAILURE TO PROVE DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE IN LOUISIANA – A defendant’s admission to driving, without more, does not prove a charge of driving under the influence.

17. INDEPENDENT WITNESSES IN LOUISIANA – Often times, independent witnesses to accidents, bartenders, hospital personnel and others can provide crucial evidence of the defendant’s sobriety.

18. FAILURE TO MIRANDIZE IN LOUISIANA – Prosecutors may not use as evidence the statements of a defendant in custody for a DUI when the police have failed to properly issue Miranda Warnings.

19. FIELD SOBRIETY TEST IMPROPERLY ADMINISTERED IN LOUISIANA – According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, improperly administered field tests are not valid evidence of intoxication.

20. OFFICER’S PRIOR DISCIPLINARY RECORD IN LOUISIANA – A police officer’s previous disciplinary record can be used to attack the officer’s credibility.

21. PORTABLE BREATH TEST INADMISSIBLE IN LOUISIANA – Most states prohibit the use of portable breath testing results as evidence at trial in a DUI case.

22. PORTABLE BREATH TEST IMPROPERLY ADMINISTERED IN LOUISIANA – The manufacturers of portable breath testing devices require a minimum of two tests to consider the results evidential in nature.

23. FAILURE TO CONDUCT OBSERVATION PERIOD IN LOUISIANA – Most states require that a driver be observed continuously for a minimum period, such as twenty minutes, prior to a breath test in order for the results to be considered admissible and valid.

24. EXPERT WITNESSES – Expert witnesses are available to review the validity of breath tests, blood tests and field sobriety tests.

25. MEDICAL AND HEALTH PROBLEMS IN LOUISIANA – Medical problems with legs, arms, neck, back and eyes can affect the results of field sobriety tests. Further, other medical conditions can also affect the validity of breath test results.

26. BAD WEATHER IN LOUISIANA – Weather reports establishing high winds, low visibility, and other conditions are available to explain poor driving or poor balance.

27. LACK OF PROBABLE CAUSE TO ARREST IN LOUISIANA – A police officer must have specific and articulable facts to support any arrest for DUI, or the suspension will be reversed and the evidence suppressed at trial.

28. ILLEGAL SEARCH – The police are prohibited from searching a person or the automobile for a minor traffic offense, and may not search a car without a driver’s consent or probable cause. Any evidence illegally obtained is not admissible in court.

29. PRIOR INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS BY POLICE OFFICERS – Any statement made by a police officer, verbally, in police reports, or at previous court proceedings may be used to attack that officer’s credibility.

30. POST-DRIVING ABSORPTION OF ALCOHOL IN LOUISIANA – The prosecutor must prove the blood or breath alcohol at the time of driving. Recent consumption of alcohol just prior to driving will cause the test results to be higher than what the true level was when the person was operating the automobile.

31. INTERFERING SUBSTANCES IN LOUISIANA – Many items contain forms of alcohol, which may cause false results, such as asthma spray, cough drops, paints, fingernail polish. These items can cause the breath results to be invalid.

32. BREATH MACHINE NOT PROPERLY OPERATED IN LOUISIANA – The manufacturers of breath testing devices have specified protocols, which must be followed for a breath result to be valid. Failure to follow these requirements will result in improper readings.

33. FAILURES TO PRODUCE DISPATCH TAPES IN LOUISIANA – Most stops of vehicles are recorded on dispatch tapes, as well as recording police communications regarding an arrest of an individual. Failure to preserve such tapes upon request can cause all evidence, which could have been recorded to be suppressed.

34. MISLEADING STATEMENTS BY POLICE OFFICERS IN LOUISIANA – Any misleading statement by the police regarding the consequences of taking (or refusing) a blood, breath, or urine test will cause the suspension to be reversed and removed from the driver’s record.

35. STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS IN LOUISIANA – A misdemeanor charge of DUI must be filed within a certain period of time (which varies between states) of the date of offense, or the charges will be dismissed outright.

36. PRIVATE PROPERTY IN LOUISIANA – A person who has not driven the car on a public highway cannot be suspended for drunk driving.

37. FAILURE TO DISCLOSE EXPERTS IN LOUISIANA – The failure of the prosecutor to disclose the state’s expert(s) will cause those witnesses to be barred from testifying against the defendant.

38. LACTATE RINGERS IN LOUISIANA – When hospital staff use lactate ringers during the treatment of a patient, the hospital blood serum results will report falsely elevated, and therefore invalid, readings.

39. FAILURE TO RECORD CERTIFICATION TESTS IN LOUISIANA – the failure to include the value of the simulator solution used to test breath machines will cause the breath test results to be inadmissible in court against the driver.

40. FORCED BLOOD DRAWS IN LOUISIANA – In some states, the police may not take a blood test against the driver’s consent where there has not been an injury involved, or the result is inadmissible.

(disclaimer) State laws may vary. Please consult an attorney for legal advice on actual application in your state.

Jindal announces package of five bills cracking down on DWIs

By Ed Anderson, The Times-Picayune
March 25, 2010, 6:45PM

Gov. Bobby Jindal said Thursday he will endorse five bills aimed at toughening the state's drunken-driving laws when the annual legislative session begins Monday.

The five bills cover a range of topics from prohibiting a convicted drunken driver from "premature removal" of an ignition interlock device to requiring school bus drivers to report DWI arrests to their supervisors before reporting to their next shift or face disciplinary action.

"We have a duty to protect our communities and roads so our families can raise their children in a safe environment," Jindal said in a news release. "These new initiatives will crack down on reckless drunk drivers and make our roads safer for our families."

Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin said the bills in the package have not been filed in advance of the session but will be shortly after it gets under way. However, some of the concepts in the Jindal package have already been filed as bills by other lawmakers.

Plotkin said the administration is reviewing similar bills by other sponsors. The five bills backed by the administration also have been approved by Jindal's Task Force on DWI and Vehicular Homicide.

Jindal said that Rep. Walt Leger III, D-New Orleans, will sponsor a bill that will require the Office of Motor Vehicles to suspend a driver's license for an unspecified period when the driver has prematurely removed the ignition interlock device that prevents a vehicle from starting if alcohol is detected on the driver's breath. The license can be reinstated when the office receives proof the device has been reactivated, but the driver will not get credit for the time it was not hooked up.

Rep. Rickey Hardy, D-Lafayette, a former Lafayette Parish School Board member, will carry the school bus driver bill, Jindal said.

If the driver does not report the DWI citation by the start of the next shift or within 24 hours, it "will result in termination of the bus driver in cases where they are serving a probationary term" under the state's tenure laws, Jindal said. For tenured bus drivers who do not report a DWI, Jindal said, a tenure hearing will be held that can result in suspension or dismissal.

Rep. Jonathan Perry, R-Kaplan, will sponsor a bill to mandate a two-year license suspension for a DWI offender who is involved in an accident and causes the death of a fetus and a second bill to require DWI offenders who have had their licenses reinstated, but must still have the interlock device, to have the license coded so if stopped, police will know the device is required.

"Some offenders are driving the vehicles of family members or other individuals who are not required to have an interlock device installed," Jindal said. "This legislation closes a gap in current law and makes it much more unlikely that repeat offenders will illegally operate any vehicle under the influence because they will have a much better chance of being caught."

Sen. Willie Mount, D-Lake Charles, will sponsor a bill that will redistribute the way money from the sale of vehicles seized from third- and fourth-time DWI offenders is shared among police, prosecutors and an insurance department panel that studies ways to reduce DWIs.