DUI in California: The Probable Causes

 

Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/21/2013 -- When you see the flashing lights of the police squad behind your car, do you have any idea as to why the police officers are asking you to pull over? The law enforcement officers in California can pull over your car when they have sufficient grounds to believe that something is wrong. For instance, the officer would have adequate reasons to pull over the vehicle if the driver doesn’t care fore traffic rules and shows erratic or inconsistent driving behavior. Further investigation might lead to their arrest if the officers find the probable causes justifying the action.

Unjustified probable causes

Such probable causes of pull over and arrest has to be established before the court. According to Salt Lake Tribune, Utah Highway Patrol officer failed to establish a recent drunk-driving charge due to the loss of her credibility as it was discovered that the officer had lied before the court in a separate case. The concerned officer couldn’t establish that the non working lights of the defender’s license plate as indicated in her testimony provided the reasonable cause of pull over. The court denied the evidence presented by the charging officer and declared that the charges were not admissible. In a similar incident, ABC reported in early 2012 that same officer arrested minors on the charges of driving under the influence. During the trail, it was found that more than one person so arrested had no alcohol in their system resulting in a class-action lawsuit against the officer and her superiors for her unlawful pursuits.

Constitutional rights

The U.S. constitution stands amended to prevent the abuse of sheer power by law enforcing officers, and they can no longer stop the drivers or conduct searches without sufficient grounds to their suspicion. The sufficient grounds of pull over in the DUI charges include traffic rule's violation, erratic or inconsistent driving behavior and a witness who sees the driver drinking lots of alcohol before getting into the car.

The law enforcement officers pressing the DUI charges should also have additional evidence of drunken behavior before asking the drivers for sobriety test or finally arresting them. The additional evidence includes:

The driver speech is slurred.
The driver has bloodshot eyes.
The breath of the driver smells alcohol.
Empty containers of alcoholic beverages are found inside the car.
The driver admits that he or she has consumed alcohol before driving the vehicle.

Health complications might induce some changes that may be mistaken as drunken behavior and therefore, it becomes highly imperative that the law enforcing officers exclude any such health-related complications while making their decisions. For example, people having low sugar levels due to diabetes should be considered accordingly. Similarly, chlorine during the swimming or excessive tiredness can also produce bloodshot eyes.

The citizen’s constitutional rights might get violated if the law enforcing offers fails to consider all the facts or simply abuse their authority. An experienced DUI attorney is your best friend if you suffer any such abuse or pull over on the charges of driving under the influence.

Contact:
DUIAttorneysLosAngeles.Org
8721 Santa Monica Boulevard #808
Los Angeles, CA 90069-4507
Phone: (424) 835-3040 (24/7)
Submitter Name: Martin Eggeling