South Carolina DUI Defense
Columbia DUI Attorney
If you have been arrested and charged with the crime of
DUI in the state of South Carolina, then you could face the significant penalties
that come along with a conviction. A
first conviction could result in license suspension for up to six months, up to $400 in
fines, up to 30 in jail, and/or 48 hours of public service. Penalties
will also depend on your
BAC (blood alcohol content); for example, you will face these same penalties
if you are convicted of DUI with a BAC of less than 0.10%, any higher
and your penalties will dramatically increase.
Facing criminal charges of drinking and driving is a serious situation,
and you need a lawyer on your side that understands the charges, and can
work with you to pursue the results that you desire for your future. The
Laubshire Law Firm, LLC is a firm that has been dedicated to serving the
criminally accused residents of Columbia, South Carolina for a number
of years. Due to the severity of the penalties that you could face, you
need the services of this firm in order to prepare a strong defense of
your case and fight the charges against you in an effective manner.
Defending Against DUI Charges
There are a number of elements to each DUI charge, and it is important
that you have representation on your side that can scrutinize each element
in order to ensure that you are receiving a fair trial and your rights
are being upheld, and that you are not wrongfully convicted of an offense
that you did not commit. There are two main points that need to be addressed
when fighting charges, the arrest process, and the evidence that is admitted
to your case.
The Arrest
In order for a police officer to pull you over, they must have probable
cause such as speeding, red light violations, or indications that you
are driving drunk. After they pull you over, they must also have probable
cause to make an arrest. This can be obtained through field sobriety tests
in most cases, or through your own admission. This firm can work to show
that the officer did not have probable cause when he/she arrested you,
and thereby have the case dismissed. They can also work to show that the
officer did not have probable cause when they pulled you over to pursue
the same result.
The Evidence
Evidence submitted in a DUI case is often subject to interpretation, and
can often be discredited. In many cases, DUI evidence will consist of
chemical tests, evidence obtained through field sobriety tests, and the
testimonies of other individuals. Chemical tests such as breath and blood
tests may seem highly scientific, however they are not always clear indicators
of intoxication. Attorney Laubshire can capitalize on the possibility
of contamination or the faulty reading of your chemical test. Field sobriety
tests and testimonies can often be fought as they are often open to interpretation,
and are sometimes subjective.
You need representation on your side that understands the legal process,
and can fight to pursue the outcome that you desire for your DUI case.
Illegal Traffic Stops
One of your most valuable legal rights as contained in the Bill of Rights
is listed under the Fourth Amendment. You have a right against "unreasonable
search and seizure," meaning that a police officer or state trooper
cannot legally investigate you or arrest you for DUI without probable
cause to suspect that you have broken the law. If the officer cannot demonstrate
that you had committed a traffic violation, that you were driving erratically
or that there was other evidence that you were driving under the influence,
it may be possible to have the charges dismissed on the grounds that your
rights were violated, which would make the evidence inadmissible in court.
Weaknesses of Field Sobriety Tests
The vast majority of law enforcement agencies throughout the United States
employ the standardized field sobriety tests developed by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The One-Leg Stand, Walk-and-Turn
and the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus are somewhat useful in determining whether
a driver's ability is impaired, but they are not perfect- alcohol
is not the only thing that can cause a person to fail the test. If the
suspect is significantly overweight, has a knee condition, is extremely
nervous or is even wearing unstable shoes such as high heels, he or she
may have a harder time passing. Similarly, the officer may have done a
poor job of explaining the tests, or perhaps he even exercised bias in
deciding that the person failed. One way to demonstrate errors with roadside
tests is to subpoena the footage from the police car dashboard video camera.
Breath and Blood Test Issues
When you submit to breath or blood chemical testing to determine whether
or not you have alcohol in your system, you either pass or you fail, right?
After all, the test is either positive or negative. The fact is that even
these tests are not perfect when it comes to supplying the evidence which
decides whether a person will be convicted in a court of law. By subpoenaing
the maintenance and calibration records for the Datamaster machine, it
is sometimes possible to show that the test results are not reliable.
It has also been demonstrated that radio frequency interference from equipment
in the police station can interfere with the Datamaster. If there was
any residual alcohol in your mouth at the time you blew your sample, the
machine would register this even if your blood alcohol concentration was
below the legal limit. Blood tests can sometimes be invalidated by pointing
to gaps in the records of how the sample was stored, which opens the door
to the possibility that the wrong sample was tested, or by pointing to
evidence that the sample may have been contaminated.
Former Prosecutor
As a
Columbia DUI lawyer, Attorney Laubshire is a former DUI prosecutor; therefore he knows how
to build a strong defense of your case in order to directly defend against
the allegations against you. Further, he knows where the common weaknesses
are in the prosecution's case, he knows how to exploit errors, and
work for the best possible outcome. He is also a former local police officer
with ten years of experience. This means that he knows how police operate,
where they may cut corners, and how to exploit flaws in their testimony
or in gathering evidence.
Contact The Laubshire Law Firm, LLC today for the representation you need on your side.