DUI Trial: How Does A Jury Define “Reasonable doubt”?

DUI Lawyers in Orange County                                           

When a
police officer conducts a DUI investigation on a driver the officer has stopped
or detained at a DUI
checkpoint, the officer can arrest the person for DUI if
he has a strong suspicion that the driver is actually guilty of drunk driving and
that suspicion is objectively reasonable. This level of suspicion, called “probable
cause” is typically reached after the officer has conducted field sobriety tests
on the driver, including a voluntary breath
test called a “preliminary alcohol
screening test” or PAS. Field sobriety tests aren’t the only thing the officer
can consider in forming probable cause though. The officer can also consider
any bad driving as well as any admissions by the driver about the number of
drinks they consumed or drugs they have taken. (DUI
drugs) That’s why you should never talk to the police about what you drank
or consumed without talking to your DUI
Lawyer first. If the bad driving resulted in an accident where someone
other than the driver was injured, then the driver could face charges for DUI
with injury which can be charged as a
felony.

Although probable
cause is enough to justify arresting a person but it is far from sufficient to
convict a person of DUI. DUI
Attorneys in Orange County will tell you that in order to actually convict
someone of DUI the District
Attorney must prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the defendant was in
fact unlawfully driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If the
DA meets this burden, then the driver faces serving time in the Orange
County jail and is also subject to a license
suspension. The burden of proof beyond any reasonable doubt is part of the
foundation of our free and democratic society. Moreover, the DA must prove its
case to twelve ordinary citizens and all of the twelve people must agree that
the prosecutor has met this very weighty burden before a driver can be
convicted of DUI, DUI drugs, or DUI with injury.

If, during
the court
proceedings you and your DUI Lawyer in Orange County decide to take the case to trial, then the jury will
be instructed by the judge on the reasonable doubt standard. But what does reasonable
doubt mean?... asks the jury. And the judge defines reasonable doubt in the
following way:

“Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is proof that leaves you
with an abiding conviction that the charge is true. The evidence need not
eliminate all possible doubt because everything in live is open to some
possible or imaginary doubt. In deciding whether the People have proved their
case beyond a reasonable doubt, you must impartially compare and consider all
the evidence that was received throughout the entire trial. Unless the evidence
proves the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant is
entitled to an acquittal and you must find the defendant not guilty.”

A skilled Orange County DUI Attorney will
use this instruction and provide several examples of when a jury must render a
verdict of not guilty. If a DUI lawyer is effective in communication the heavy
burden that the prosecutor must prove, then there is often a good chance of at
least one juror not finding the driver guilty of DUI.

For a free
telephonic consultation with an experienced DUI attorney, call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500. The consultation is
confidential. Or you can visit our website at www.ejesquire.com.
We have office locations throughout Orange County. Our main office is located
at 32072 Camino Capistrano, 2^nd floor, San Juan Capistrano, CA
92675.

criminal defense
lawyers in Orange County   

The Breathalyzer And The DUI Trial

DUI Lawyer in Orange County
The Breathalyzer And The DUI Trial

If you are the subject of a DUI investigation in Orange County, because you were stopped for some traffic violation or at a DUI checkpoint, you will likely be asked to take field sobriety tests and to take a voluntary breath test. This voluntary test, called a Preliminary Alcohol Screening test (PAS test) should almost never be consented to. Moreover, if you are arrested for a DUI, whether it is a first offense DUI or if you have prior DUIs, you will be advised be the arresting officer that you must submit to either a blood test or a breath test to determine your blood alcohol level.

DUI Attorneys in Orange County know that the breath test is not the most accurate test. In fact, the breath testing device will often read a little higher when the person taking the test is in the “absorptive” phase. That is to say, when the alcohol in a person’s stomach is being absorbed into the blood, the breath machine tends to read high. Absorption usually happens within 30 minutes or so of the last drink, but can be delayed by up to three hours depending on how much food is in the stomach. Thus, if you are in the absorptive phase and you take a breath test, the result may be inaccurately high. An actual blood-alcohol level of 0.06% may produce a false reading of 0.08% and this evidence will be used to convict you of a DUI you didn’t commit.

Therefore, it is very common for Orange County DUI lawyers to have an expert testify at the DUI trial and explain this phenomena to the jurors. Although jurors in a DUI trial tend to be very skeptical about this expert testimony, if just one juror accepts the truth of it, a DUI conviction can be avoided. A single dissenting juror will cause a mistrial and more often than not the DA will offer to settle the case with a wet reckless rather than retry the case.

However, in the recent appellate court case of People v. Vangelder (11/21/2013) the appellate department held that DUI Attorneys in Orange County can no longer put on expert testimony on this point in DUI trials. Not because the testimony isn’t accurate or true—it is—but because the legislature doesn’t care whether it’s true or not. The appellate court found that the legislature went to great lengths to make clear that California Vehicle Code section 23152(b) makes it a crime to drive when a breath test shows a reading of 0.08% or higher, regardless of whether breath machines in general tend to read high during the absorptive phase.
Thus, although Orange County DUI Attorneys can still, in a DUI trial, challenge whether the specific breath testing machine used in the case was working properly, they can no longer present evidence about the general fallibility of breath testing machines.

If you are being charged with a DUI and have questions about the penalties for DUI, court proceedings, DMV hearing, or license suspension and would like to talk to an experienced DUI Attorney about your case call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500. You can also visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com. We have office locations at 1901 Newport Blvd., Suite 350, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 and at 32072 Camino Capistrano, 2nd floor, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675.

Orange County criminal defense lawyers