Unlawful Police Stops & Los Angeles DUI Arrests
Los Angeles DUI Lawyer
The initial police stop is an important issue that your attorney should consider when handling your Los Angeles DUI case. The manner in which you were pulled over may have a significant impact on your case, particularly if the arresting officer did not have probable cause to pull you over to the side of the road in the first place. If you were the victim of an unlawful police stop, your Los Angeles DUI lawyer may be able to use this to your advantage.
There is specific behavior that would give an officer reasonable grounds to pull a driver over for suspected drunk driving. This may include:
- Speeding
- Driving too slowly
- Running a red light
- Going the wrong way on a road or freeway
- Swerving in and out of one’s lane
- Driving without headlights
- Driving with broken or disabled brake lights or headlights
- Reckless driving
- Weaving in and out of traffic
- Following too closely
- Violating any type of traffic law
When an officer observes any of these situations, he or she may have the right to pull a driver over to the side of the road. At that point, the officer would ask for the driver’s license and registration and would take this opportunity to determine whether the driver displays any outward signs of intoxication (slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, etc.) that would give the officer cause to request for the driver to perform field sobriety tests.
Were You the Victim of an Unlawful Police Stop? Contact an Attorney Today.
If the officer who pulled you over did not have an actual reason to do so, your attorney may be able to use this on your behalf to challenge your DUI charges. Leaving a bar or nightclub at closing time is not enough to give an officer grounds to pull you over. You must have violated a traffic law or displayed certain mannerisms that indicate drunk driving.
Contact a Los Angeles DUI Attorney to see how you can challenge an unlawful police stop.