DUI Defense Lawyer Fort Wayne

If you have been charged with DUI in Indiana (which is called OWI or operating while intoxicated) a good criminal defense attorney will force the prosecution to prove every element of their case. In OWI cases, the prosecution generally has access to breathalyzer tests, roadside sobriety tests, and blood tests.

While roadside sobriety tests are the most subjective and least credible evidence, it still requires an OWI attorney who understands why they can give false positives. The same is true of blood tests and breathalyzers. It is important for anyone facing OWI charges to understand some basic defenses to OWI and how a Fort Wayne DUI defense attorney can help.

Problems with Roadside Sobriety Tests

There are three main types of roadside sobriety tests that are authorized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Those are:

• Horizontal gaze nystagmus
• One-legged stand
• Walk and turn

None of these tests even remotely come close to being objective evidence of anything. Of the three, the horizontal gaze nystagmus is considered the most accurate. A police officer will hold a pen and then make you follow it with your eyes. If your eyes twitch, then they assume you are drunk. However, this can be an indication of any number of neurological conditions or simply that there is too much light in your eyes.

Problems with Breathalyzers

Breathalyzer tests do not account for how much you weigh. Simply speaking, they come up with a number that represents your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) without testing your blood alcohol concentration.

Second, breathalyzers give false positives all the time. For those who are on the Keto Diet, they will produce higher levels of acetone than others. The breathalyzer interprets these acetones as alcohol and responds accordingly.

If your breath is hotter than average, then the breathalyzer will inflate the results. If the breathalyzer is not calibrated properly, that will also inflate the results.

Problems with Blood Tests

Blood tests are, scientifically speaking, the only accurate way to measure someone’s blood alcohol concentration. This makes sense because it is a test of your blood and not anything else. Your blood is withdrawn and refrigerated. If it is not refrigerated, the blood will ferment, causing an inflated BAC. Additionally, the exact correct amount of blood must be taken. If too little blood is taken, that will also inflate your BAC.

The test works by heating up your blood to burn off the alcohol. The amount of alcohol is tested. If there is not enough blood, the concentration will read higher than your actual BAC. In order to pass scientific scrutiny, the test must be administered exactly right.

Talk to a DUI Defense Attorney in Fort Wayne

If you have been charged with DUI in Fort Wayne, the skilled criminal defense attorneys at Robert Bellinger Law will ensure that any evidence used against you passes scientific scrutiny. Talk to us today and let us help you.