Reader’s Question:

My sister was charged with DUI in Towson, Maryland and his lawyer is doing everything to build a strong defense. My question is what issues can be raised in a DUI arrest during the criminal trial?

Vanessa

Towson, MD

The very first issue that can be raised in a DUI arrest is if the DUI stop was legal under the Fourth Amendment. In general, there would be three kinds of recognized police-citizen encounters. The first one is the level one encounter where an officer does not stop a person but merely approaches without seizing or stopping him/her in a public place in order to say hello or ask how the person is doing.

The second kind of police-citizen encounter is an investigatory detention or traffic stop. A traffic stop should be based upon “articulable suspicion” and this means that the officer should give a reason for the stop and the stop must not be based on a guess or hunch. Many times an officer would stop citizens on a guess or hunch, and their hunch may be correct but that is illegal and if proven, all evidence being would be thrown out of court or suppressed. The third kind of police-citizen encounter is an arrest that is based on “probable cause.” Your sister’s DUI case in Towson, Maryland could be thrown out of court if the arrest was not based on “probable cause” that she is a less safe driver based on alcohol or drugs consumed prior to or while driving.

Tags: drunk driving laws, DUI, DUI arrest, DUI lawyer, DUI trial