For anyone with a pending DUI case in Los Angeles County, understanding the potential mistakes that the police can make during a DUI stop is crucial. This knowledge can empower you to challenge these mistakes and potentially fight your case.

It's crucial to understand that the police can't stop someone without a valid reason. Whether it's late at night or a weekend, if it can be proven that the stop was unjustified, there's a strong possibility that the entire case can be dismissed, giving you hope for a positive outcome.

The stop will be illegal. The breath/blood result will be thrown out. Any statements they make will be disregarded. Any observations made by the police will be disregarded.

The first and most critical mistake the police can make is an unjustified stop. This mistake is so significant that if they can't justify the stop, the entire case could be at risk of being dismissed.

So what do they do? They come up with a reason every single time, and they can come up with all sorts of different reasons. Maybe you didn't signal. You were swerving. That's the best one – that you were shifting. You're constantly swerving.

I mean, how do you refute some of these things? It's going to be your word against the police, and if it turns out that your blood alcohol level was over .07, a judge or a jury is going to believe the police most of the time.

Recent positive developments, particularly with DUI laws, have led to many police vehicles in Los Angeles County being equipped with dashcams. These provide concrete evidence to refute claims. If the dashcam footage doesn't show you swerving or failing to signal, you have a strong defense. Similarly, body cams worn by many police officers can also be used to catch them in potential mistakes.

Another thing that's happening is body cams. Many police officers in Los Angeles County wear body cams, so that's another way to catch them. If they don't indicate when they talk to you on the body cam, they stop you because you didn't signal.

However, it's important to note that both dashcams and body cams are susceptible to manipulation. For instance, a dashcam might conveniently miss the stop, or a body cam might focus on the steering wheel, obscuring the stop. These are tactics used by the police to win cases, even if it means not always telling the truth.

Despite these challenges, it's important to remember that the truth will prevail. There are ways to counter these manipulations, and with the right legal strategy and determination, you can still win your case, empowering you to fight for your rights.

Incorrect Chemical Testing

Another common policy mistake that I see more and more during these drug/marijuana DUI stops is that the police have the people do alcohol-related tests. That doesn't test for marijuana or drugs.

So, that's another way to attack them. You say, Wait a minute. If you thought the guy was intoxicated, he couldn't safely operate a motor vehicle—why are you having him do the wrong test?

Have a DRE (Drug Recognition Expert) come out to the scene or bring him to the station as a DRE and let the DRE talk to them, look at them, and conduct some tests that might relate to being intoxicated because of marijuana or intoxicated by some other drug.

So, that's another mistake that they make. They're using the wrong test. That's an area where you can get them, especially when your client blows zeros on the breath machine. Why are you having him walk the line if he's blowing zeros? He doesn't have any alcohol in his system.

Unfortunately, the police write the report after compiling the information. They're not going to say, "We did the field sobriety test, and he passed it." They sometimes fail to mention it in the report. So, that's another mistake to look for.

Police Don't Understand DUI Refusal Law

Another mistake in DUI cases in Los Angeles is that the police don't understand the refusal law. The bottom line is that driving is a privilege and not a right. So, if the police think you're intoxicated and ask you to take one of the tests – the blood test or the breath test – to detect a DUI, you need to take one of the tests.

If you don't, it's a refusal. However, there are specific rules related to denials. Here's where the mistake comes in. You have to tell the person once they say that you're considering a refusal for a DUI; you have to say, okay, if you don't take the test, you'll lose your driver's license for a year. They have to read the form and then write down exactly what they say, under penalty of perjury.

Often, the police are not doing that, so that's another common mistake. They don't tell the person they'll lose their driver's license for a year. If you can prove that either through a witness, body camera evidence, or otherwise, they have a significant problem because now they have no breath test and no blood test. They're relying on the refusal to get the person for the case, which works, assuming the denial is made correctly. That's another common mistake the police make.

Police Don't Determine Time of Driving.

Another common mistake is that you have to be driving to have a DUI in Los Angeles County. When the police arrive, they're out of the car. They're walking somewhere. They're pulled over on the side of the freeway.

The big mistake they can make, and I've won cases, is not asking the person when they stopped there. Then, how could you ever figure out when the person was driving the car unless you have a witness or the police can claim, without seeing anything beforehand, that they went by that freeway twenty minutes ago, and the person wasn't stopped there?

Again, they always seem to have some trick up their sleeve to try to get out of it. But that's another common mistake the police make in DUI cases in LA County. They don't pinpoint when the driving occurred. There's no way for their expert to extrapolate backward to say what the person's blood-alcohol level was for purposes of a DUI at the time of the driving if they don't know when the driving occurred. That's another crucial mistake that can be made.

Different mistakes can be made, and many of them depend on the facts of the case. If you have a DUI in Los Angeles County and are seeking potential mistakes the police may have made, please contact me. We'll sit down and go over everything, and I'll give you an honest rundown of what I think of your DUI case.