DUII Defenses in Klamath Falls
A sound DUII defense begins immediately after you are arrested. It is important that you hire a lawyer and allow him or her to begin working on your case. The very first thing I do when working on a DUII case is conduct a brief interview of you to identify if there are any critical issues.
DMV HEARING
Challenging your DMV suspension is an important step. At that DMV hearing the police officer that arrested you must come to the hearing and testify. This hearing gives your lawyer his or her first shot at learning about the facts of your case. If the officer made a mistake during the DUII investigation against you, then your lawyer can use the DMV hearing to explore that mistake and potentially use it to help your criminal case in the future.
MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE
An important tool that your lawyer may use is what is called a “Motion to Suppress.” This defense comes from your Constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure. An officer cannot stop you without probable cause that you committed a vehicle code violation or without reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime. Additionally, an officer cannot arrest you or ask you to provide a breath sample without probable cause.
If an officer makes a mistake at any one of these stages of the DUII investigation against you then your lawyer may be able to get the case against you dismissed in its entirety.
TRIAL
More DUII cases go to trial than any other type of case. Your case may need to proceed to a jury trial. Trial has many moving parts and unpredictable components. The ultimate decision regarding your guilt or innocence will be up to a jury.
It is critical that you hire the right lawyer to try your case to a jury. You need someone that is skilled and experienced and confident in court. I have tried dozens of DUII trials in my career and I have obtained not-guilty verdicts in many of those.