With a quarter-century of experience in DUI cases, I've had the opportunity to understand the various approaches used by lawyers in these cases. To successfully defend a DUI case, it's crucial to find a winning angle.

Most DUI cases in Los Angeles County are either dismissed because prosecutors lack evidence and are aware of it, or they are situations where prosecutors do have the proof. The defense attorney works out a plea bargain for them.

It's essential to note that only a small percentage of DUI cases actually proceed to trial. Many attorneys, despite their claims when securing a substantial retainer fee for a trial, often lack crucial information at the outset.

Before quoting a trial fee, I always take the time to thoroughly evaluate the case. It's essential to determine if the client has a chance to win the case. Winning a case takes time and a winning angle that, if believed by a jury, would lead to victory. For instance, various angles can be explored.

They don't come up in every case. They're fact-dependent. There are some cases where the angle is that the person wasn't driving the vehicle. To have a DUI, you have to be driving a car, and at the time you're driving, you can't safely operate a motor vehicle either because you have alcohol in your system or did some drugs, or a combination of both.

So, if the police can't figure out when you were driving the car, when they got their hands on you, when you were drinking, or when you were using some drugs, then they're not going to be able to prove their case. That's one angle that works for patients.

I had a case in Ventura County where my client allegedly crashed into a pole. He got out of the car because it was no longer drivable, and he left the scene. He went to get help. He called AAA. He went to get something to eat.

He didn't come back to the scene until quite some time later, and when he arrived, a Ventura County sheriff was waiting for him. But they never pinpoint when he crashed into the pole, so that's one thing they try to do. The police realize this is a problem, so they'll ask the person, ' When did you crash here? ' They didn't do that in his case, so they got dismissed because they could not pinpoint when the driving was.

Challenging Blood or Breath Test Results

Another way to attack a DUI case is if there's a problem with the blood or breath result. For example, sometimes it happens, and it's happened to me many times because I've been doing this a lot, and I've done thousands of DUI cases across LA County, but sometimes it happens.

You have a situation where the machine that is used to test the blood – the Intoxilyzer 3000, a commonly used breathalyzer in DUI cases-ends up being broken, and there's some issue – it's not calibrated correctly, there's some problem, it's taken out of service for some time – close in time for when they used it for a particular defendant.

Now you've got an argument. You can say, ' Wait a minute, the machine you have doesn't even work right. ' You're not going to be able to get somebody for a DUI in those circumstances if that's all the evidence you have and that's what you're relying on.

Another area that I see attacked is contamination related to blood. If you have a situation where they take somebody's blood and then the defense can do a blood split on it, and the expert for a reason either comes back with a much lower result that's not under a .08, that would be one way to have an angle to win a DUI case in LA, or the expert says there's been contamination here. Contamination refers to the introduction of foreign substances into the blood sample, which can lead to inaccurate test results. Some experts say that is huge in a DUI case. So, that's another way to win a DUI case.

Unlawful Police Stop

Yet another winnable point is an illegal stop, and now, with all this video technology, we're winning cases on this angle more and more, where the police claim the person blew through a stop sign.

They didn't completely stop. Meanwhile, we get a dashcam, and we can say no; the person did control; they're just not telling the truth. They just pulled him over for no reason and made up a reason, or they tried to claim some other traffic violation. Then, you obtain the dashcam footage or bodycam footage, and you can make a strong argument.

Speaking of body cams and angles go and DUI in Los Angeles County, many LAPD officers now have body cams. If they're claiming a person didn't pass a field sobriety test, and you have a body cam video showing that they did and were fine. They could walk the line. They cooperated with the police officer.

They didn't look drunk. They were walking and talking fine. That's another angle to consider. So, there are angles to win DUI cases, but those angles are not always apparent and may not be relevant in every case. Sometimes, the police have the evidence against you. They're out there.

They're supposed to be protecting the public from people who are drinking and driving. If they pull you over for a lawful reason and your blood alcohol level is well over the .08, you've got a problem.

So, an attorney trying to claim differently in every case without even evaluating the facts, I would never trust those attorneys because all they're trying to do is get a fee without looking at the patient first. So, first, when I take on a DUI case, I will provide a quote for handling the case short of trial. I get on it. I get all the discoveries. I review it.

Contact our Firm for Help

I talked to the client about it. I spoke to the prosecutor about it. I've got inside knowledge of the court where the case is pending, and now we get down to the nitty-gritty. Alright, can you win the case or not?

If you can't win the case, we will not take it to trial. If you can win the case, then we'll set things up, take the test, and win it. However, simply stating that you will win the case before knowing the facts is reckless and makes no sense.

Many people see that nowadays, because I talk to them, they're coming in talking about all kinds of crazy stuff. Wait a minute. That doesn't even apply to your case. You don't even have the paperwork on your case.

How do you know that that particular issue applies to your case? Just because some salesperson on the phone brought that up to you doesn't mean that it's relevant in your specific case. So, the first thing you have to do is figure out what makes sense. Use your common sense to make good, solid decisions about winning a DUI case in Los Angeles County.