When a person is charged with driving under the influence in Georgia, they will inevitably be fearful as to what will happen if they are convicted. There are various consequences for DUI including the possibility of incarceration, hefty fines and a driver’s license suspension. With subsequent DUIs and convictions, the penalties grow steadily worse.
People in this situation must remember that they have options. Simply accepting the DUI charge is often a mistake as there are ways to question the evidence, show they were not under the influence or even scrutinize how the law enforcement officer went about their duties.
In most cases, this involves problems with the justification for the traffic stop or how the tests were conducted. Recently, however, one officer was found to have arrested people for DUI when they were innocent. That officer was terminated from his job.
Officer’s DUI arrests were suspicious
In this unusual situation, an investigative news team found the a police officer made double the number of DUI arrests in 2023 – his first full year on the job – than any other officer in his department. In some instances, people were arrested for DUI due to drugs even though no drugs were found.
People who were arrested proclaimed their innocence. In one case, the officer stated he saw signs of intoxication claiming the driver’s eyes were bloodshot. In addition, he asserted that the driver had failed field sobriety tests. She protested the allegation that she was under the influence of drugs and agreed to take a blood test. The charges against her were later dismissed as were many others.
A trainer at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center’s impaired driving course stated that the officer’s bodycam footage suggested he behaved in a questionable way when he took part in police training in September 2023. After an internal investigation, the officer was fired. His pending cases are being reassessed.
DUIs can be successfully fought in court
This might be viewed as an extreme example of how DUIs and the evidence proving them can be analyzed from the accused person’s perspective, but there are other issues that can arise in a case. The reason for the traffic stop might not have been conducted according to the law or the tests could be faulty. It is imperative to look at every aspect of a DUI case to try and find solutions to avoid a conviction.