Beat Breathalyzer

Most people assume that failing Field Sobriety Tests or failing a breathalyzer test means they should plead guilty to a drunk driving charge. Don’t make the same mistake.

The Consequences

Any decent Utah DUI attorney will tell you: Drunk driving charges are very serious. In Utah, upon a first conviction, the court must sentence first time drunk drivers to:

48 hours in jail, 48 hours of community service, or home confinement with an ankle monitor; A fine of not less than $1295 (includes surcharge); A PRIME for Life class; and A mandatory ignition interlock for 18 months.1 (an interlock prevents your car from starting until your breath is free from alcohol )

Additionally, a first time DUI conviction results in a mandatory 120 day license suspension. Then the State brands you as an “Alcohol Restricted Driver.” You cannot drive with any alcohol in your system. And unlike some states, Utah issues work or occupational driving permits only after being violation free for 1 year.

Remember though, that what a court must do. At its option, a court can sentence you to 6 months in jail and an $1850 fine. Don’t let any of this happen to you.

I see dozens of DUIs every month and one thing is clear: In Utah, not all DUIs are created equal. As a Utah DUI attorney, I’ll share a few secrets to how I beat DUIs

The Law

As a Utah DUI attorney, the first thing I look at in a DUI case is the law. Did the police have probable cause to pull you over? Did the police exceed the scope of the initial stop? If you refused a breathalyzer, did the police read you the required admonishments?

Utah DUI lawyers will find and exploit these legal protections for your benefit.

The Science

As a Utah DUI lawyer, I am familiar with the science (or rather, lack of science) behind drunk driving convictions. That’s how I know that breathalyzers don’t work. That’s right, they’re wrong. Breathalyzers don’t actually measure alcohol, they measure any substance that contains the “methyl group” in its molecular structure.

Are you on a diet? If so, low blood sugar may result in high levels of acetone. A breathalyzer will misinterpret acetone as alcohol, artificially inflating your test results. The same effect happens if you’re a diabetic.

Are you a smoker? Smokers have up to 30 times more acetaldehyde in their breath than non-smokers. Again, a breathalyzer will interpret this as alcohol and inflate your test results.

The same is true for Field Sobriety Tests like the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test. In that test, a police officer will ask you to hold your head still and follow the tip of a pen. The officer will move his pen to your left while watching your eye movement. The officer is looking for involuntary eye jerks, technically called nystagmus. What the officer doesn’t care about and probably doesn’t know—but what a Utah DUI lawyer does—is that there are over 40 medical reasons for nystagmus including genetics.

The list goes on and on for all of the so-called DUI science.

Utah DUI lawyers will show a jury reasonable doubt by giving them the truth behind the science. And the truth will set you free.

Originally published here.