If the Orange County DA has charged you with DUI, Domestic Violence, drug sales, or any other crime and you are going to trial in the case, there is a good chance your criminal defense lawyer in Orange County will want to attack the credibility or “impeach” some of the witnesses against you. The most common target of impeachment is the arresting police or CHP officer. The most common way of impeaching the officer is to show that the officer made mistakes in his or her report, including omitting information that would be favorable to you, the defendant.
In a DUI case, it is very common for the arresting officer to only record information in the report that is detrimental to the defendant. So, for example, the officer will be more than willing to share with the jury the details of your poor performance of the field sobriety tests. However, the officer will probably not tell the jury that when he observed your driving he noticed that you were keeping within the speed limit, that you never weaved or swerved, that you executed any turns perfectly, that you signaled before turns and lane changes, and that you parked your car perfectly. All of these things indicate that you were NOT impaired by alcohol or drugs. The officer will not volunteer these details and they must be dragged out of the officer by your DUI Lawyer in Orange County.
Or, in a Domestic Battery case, the arresting officer may include details in the report that are simply inaccurate, such as the address of the residence, the description of the residence, who was present at the scene, or a plethora of other details. When this happens, your Domestic Violence Attorney in Orange County should highlight these inaccuracies when cross examining the police officer. This impeachment of the officer can create powerful doubt about the accuracy of the rest of the cops report. This doubt can be the deciding factor when critical details of the officer’s report are also in dispute—if the cop was wrong about other details then he can’t be trusted on the critical details.
Other witnesses in a DUI, hit and run, domestic violence or other criminal trial can be impeached by prior criminal convictions. Since civilian witnesses often testify in criminal trials this becomes important. If the witness has been convicted of ANY felony, such as drug possession, marijuana sales, or Corporal Injury, then your Orange County criminal defense lawyer can inform the jury of this conviction. The only felony convictions that are excluded are those that have been pardoned or expunged. Also, any prior criminal conduct that reflects “moral turpitude” is admissible for impeachment whether it amounts to a felony or a misdemeanor. So prior convictions for petty theft, forgery, embezzlement or perjury are all admissible as impeachment against the witness.
If you have been charged with DUI drugs, Criminal Threats, methamphetamine possession, or any other crime in the Orange County courts call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro today for a free telephonic consultation. You’ll speak directly to an experienced criminal defense attornye in Orange County who will advise you of your options. Call (949) 559-5500 or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com. We have office locations at 1901 Newport Blvd., Suite 350, Costa Mesa, CA 92927 and at 32072 Camino Capistrano, 2nd floor, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675.
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