If you have been arrested for a DUI in Miami, you may be wondering if there are legal defenses you can use. In some cases, it could be that there wasn’t a reasonable cause for the arresting officer to pull you over. Being the victim of an illegal stop could impact your charges.
To learn how you can protect and defend your rights, contact a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. The sooner you seek legal counsel, the more time they will have to put together a defense case.
Overview of an Illegal Stop Defense in a DUI Case
If you want to fight your charges to see them reduced or dismissed, you may be able to use an illegal stop as a defense. There must be a reasonable suspicion for a police officer to pull you over.
One of the reasons that may give an officer the right to pull you over is if they notice you are weaving within your own lane or in and out of other lanes. If you change lanes without signaling, or another motorist has alerted police to what they perceive as reckless driving, it could be a cause for pulling you over.
Despite these suspicions, it doesn’t automatically mean they were reasonable. For instance, weaving in your own lane doesn’t necessarily give grounds for you to be stopped.
What may be called weaving by the officer could really be normal movement of a vehicle. Or, your attorney may argue that it was just a few inches of movement, nothing out of the ordinary that would warrant stopping you.
Weaving in and out of traffic could really mean that you made a couple of lane changes. This could also be used as a defense in your case.
Most states don’t consider a failure to signal before making a lane change to be a traffic violation. In fact, in most circumstances it is only required if there is another vehicle nearby.
Your attorney may argue that you didn’t break the law, therefore, shouldn’t have been stopped. Or, that no other vehicles were around, so there was no need to use a signal.
Even if another motorist has called police and alerted them to your driving, it doesn’t mean the officer has the right to stop you. There must be credible information provided that warrants pulling you over.
If it’s not possible to get information from the other motorist about how he or she came to know of your driving and what exactly led him or her to believe you are under the influence, this could result in the stop being invalid. Therefore, your charges could be dropped.
Conviction of a DUI in Miami is a serious offense. You could be facing stiff penalties that impact your life and work. Therefore, you may wish to consult with a criminal defense lawyer to learn if you have a case worth fighting.
Seeking Help from a Criminal Defense Lawyer
If your behavior behind the wheel was misinterpreted, or another driver provided a false tip, this could lead to the dismissal of your charges. If it can be shown that the officer who stopped you had no right to, then you may have a strong legal defense.
Your next step should be to seek help from an experienced, qualified lawyer at Falk & Ross Law Firm. We can investigate the details of your arrest to determine if the officer had the right to stop you. Don’t delay in securing help from legal counsel when you are facing DUI charges. We may be able to help preserve your license and other rights. Contact us today for a free consultation – 877-663-5110 or 305-741-6997.