The “Rising Defense” in DUI Cases

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro Orange County DUI Attorney
DUI Attorneys in Orange County

After an evening of dinner and drinks with friends you pull onto the roadway for the short trip home. You no sooner leave the restaurant or bar when you see the flashing red and blue lights in your mirror. You pull over and the cop comes to your window and smells alcohol on your breath. After some quick field sobriety tests you are arrested for drunk driving.

The officer takes you to the station for a test of your blood or breath. After all, it’s not illegal to drink and drive—it’s only illegal to drive if your blood-alcohol is OVER a 0.08% or you are too impaired to drive safely. But by the time you get to the station and actually take a test, almost two hours have gone by. So, as any DUI Attorney in Orange County will tell you, the test you take at the station cannot tell us what your blood alcohol was when you were driving, it only tells us what your blood-alcohol level was long AFTER driving.

This is a problem for the prosecutor because they must prove that your blood-alcohol level was over the legal limit AT THE TIME OF DRIVING. But blood-alcohol CHANGES over time. So, in our example above, when you left the restaurant, much of the alcohol you drank may still have been in your stomach, AND NOT IN YOUR BLOOD, when you were driving. But by the time you get to the police station, all of that alcohol will probably be in your blood. So if, for example, your blood test at the station was a 0.10%, it is probable that your blood-alcohol at the time of driving was below the legal limit of 0.08%

Educating a jury on this process is known as the “rising defense” and it is a staple defense used by the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro. This defense is very effective where the driver’s measured blood-alcohol level is close to the legal limit and the driver consumed alcohol close to the time of driving. So if you are arrested and charged with a DUI, you may have a solid defense even if your measured blood-alcohol level was over the legal limit. If you would like to speak to an experienced Orange County DUI lawyer call us today at (949) 559-5500. The consultation is free and completely confidential.

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro

www.EJEsquire.com

DUI Attorneys in Orange County
Orange County DUI Lawyer