Is Suspicion of DUI Enough to Legally Pull You Over?
by Michael Kessler (Kessler Law Firm)Florida Criminal Defense as it relates to suspicion of drunk driving.
For any law enforcement officer to have a valid reason to stop you in your vehicle, there must be a “articulable and reasonable suspicion” that:
(1) You are an unlicensed driver;
(2) That your vehicle is not registered;
(3) Either you or the vehicle you are driving is in violation of the law.
The officers must have some reasonable and articulable suspicion that you are committing a crime before they decide to stop you, not just develop this suspicion after your stop.
“Articulable” means the law enforcement officer is able to identify specific facts and reasons to the court, through testimony, a reason why he or she believed there was a violation of the law justifying the stop of your vehicle.
What constitutes “reasonable” is analyzed on a case by case basis, but it always has to be more than a mere “hunch” or guess on the part of the officer.
As an example, what would be considered reasonable cannot just be that you were just driving too slow but not impeding traffic, or that there was a slight weaving of your vehicle when no other vehicles were near enough to be affected.
In your DUI-DWI case, you thus have a possible legal challenge to the basis of the “stop” or confrontation by the police if the law enforcement officer who initially stopped you, or discovered you intoxicated in your stationary vehicle, cannot give the court a good reason for the stop or for interrupting your privacy.
Because each case is fact-specific, most of these challenges are won on extremely narrow or specific factual distinctions that are brought out by your criminal defense specialist at a pre-trial hearing.
If you are facing a DUI charge in Florida, Criminal Defense Attorney Michael Kessler offers you a free consultation to talk about your case options. Don’t delay your defense Call 772-466-4900 to speak with Attorney Kessler today.
