Every California DUI case is decided based on the strength of the evidence. Many defendants believe the evidence against them is solid, but the DUI evidence is often weak in many cases.
Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were either over the legal limit of intoxicants in your system, were impaired by them, or both.
In many California Vehicle Code 23152 VC DUI cases, the prosecutor will have limited evidence to work with.
With the advent of technology, many cases of driving under the influence, or at least part of them, are captured on video. These videos can be instrumental, offering a ray of hope to both the defense and the prosecution.
This video evidence comes in various forms. One video is mounted to the police squad cars. Those have been with us for quite some time, but not every vehicle has them.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) usually has videos on its cars. We've often successfully obtained those videos as part of the discovery process in a DUI case to see if we can use them to help our client.
Unfortunately, a lot of times, the police park their car so they don't capture the field sobriety test, for example, or they don't charge any of the communications between the defendant and the police officer. In that scenario, the car video is not all that useful.
Our Los Angeles DUI lawyers are providing a closer review below.
Police Dashcam Videos
Dashcams are also called Mobile Video Audio Recording Systems (MVARS). There are cameras attached to the dashboard in many law enforcement vehicles designed to record what happens before and after someone is arrested.
Under California law, police are not required to use MVARS, but if it's used to record an incident, a defendant has a legal right to view the footage recorded, ensuring a fair and transparent legal process.
Depending on what happened, the dashcam can help a defendant in a California driving under the influence case, such as shown on video:
- police lacked probable cause for a traffic stop,
- The defendant didn't show any outward signs of intoxication,
- The defendant passed the roadside field sobriety tests
The issue of probable cause warrants further discussion. Put simply, law enforcement must have probable cause that someone driving a vehicle committed some unlawful act before they can initiate a traffic stop.
The MVARS records and saves a video of the police officer activating the squad car's emergency lights.
This means the dashcam will typically show how the defendant was driving before getting pulled over, potentially indicating that the defendant was operating normally.
This means the video footage could prove the police had no probable cause to stop the vehicle. If there was no probable cause, then any evidence gathered as a result of the unlawful traffic stop can be suppressed.
Anyone accused of a crime can obtain the dashcam video footage, which the defendant's defense lawyer usually does by requesting it from the arresting police department. This process is part of the discovery phase in a DUI case, where both the prosecution and defense exchange evidence. The prosecution also has a right to use the MVARS video evidence in criminal cases.
The prosecution also has a right to use the MVARS video evidence in criminal cases.
Unlawful Police Stop
I see it potentially being valid if it's an illegal stop and the police claim that one thing happened; the client says, "No, that's not true. " For example, I didn't make an illegal right turn or speed.
Then you get the video, and the video doesn't show them doing anything illegal. Now, that video can be used to show that the police are not telling the truth and have made an unlawful stop.
More recently, the videos that we see in these DUI cases are body-worn videos, where the police officers have one in the video when they contact the defendant and talk to them.
You can see how the defendant is acting, walking, and talking. Of course, these bodycam videos aren't on when they approach the suspect's vehicle many times.
It would be nice to get a combination of the car video and the body-worn video, but unfortunately, not all police agencies have it.
As I write this post, I don't see many CHP officers wearing the body video, but I do see LAPD officers who don't make as many DUI pullovers and arrests.
Video Evidence Can Be Helpful or Hurtful
These videos have been helpful in many DUI cases that I've handled. They've also helped the prosecutors prove their cases.
They can also be used against defendants. If somebody fails the field sobriety test miserably, the police can capture that on video or record the person's impaired driving.
Then, that can undoubtedly be used to prove they were driving under the influence of alcohol or some other substance. The video is a very effective tool for the prosecutors and usually facilitates a resolution in the case.
Put simply, video evidence can be helpful or detrimental to the defendant's case.
It might accurately support or police officer's statements regarding the defendant's driving conduct, demeanor, appearance, and performance on the field sobriety tests.
In other cases, it could show police did not have sufficient reasonable or probable cause to pull over the defendant's vehicle. In these situations, the criminal defense lawyer can file a motion to suppress under California Penal Code 1538.5 PC.
At the motion hearing, the defense lawyer will have a chance to question the police officer about the vehicle stop and play the dashcam in court for the judge to review.
If the judge decides there was insufficient reasonable cause to justify the vehicle stop, they will grant the motion, and all the resulting DUI evidence will be suppressed. When this happens, the prosecution usually cannot proceed and will dismiss the charges.
So, if you have a case where you think there's video evidence, and you think it might help you, it's crucial to hire an attorney like me who's been doing this for 27 years, knows how to get those videos, knows how to evaluate them, and obviously, uses them to your advantage, providing you with a sense of security and confidence in your defense.
Hedding Law Firm is located in Los Angeles County and offers a free case consultation.
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