Counterattacking Fairfax DUI and Virginia DWI prosecutions is essential, says Virginia DUI lawyer

Counterattacking Fairfax DUI and Virginia DWI prosecutions under Virginia Code § 18.2-266 is essential, rather than merely being in a defensive mode. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, the latter approach serves me well in serving those accused of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in violation of Virginia Code § 18.2-266.  Keep these approaches to pursuing your best defense in mind as you work with your Virginia DWI lawyer, whether you were arrested during the past St. Patrick’s Day weekend or at another time. There is no one-size fits all nor formulaic approach to your best defense. This is proverbial guerrilla warfare where the law, evidence and judging approach often is lo[sided against you, but that does not prevent you and your attorney from turning the situation to your favor. 

What are some recurring defenses that arise in counterattacking Fairfax DUI prosecutions?

While counterattacking Fairfax DUI prosecutions means that there is no cookbook approach to Virginia DWI defense, we still see some recurring themes that need addressing by your Virginia DUI lawyer. For blood draw DUI cases, these defenses include but are not limited to raising Fourth Amendment Constitutional attacks to blood draws for examining blood alcohol content (BAC) by the Virginia Department of Forensic Science (DFS) (including challenging whether the blood draw was obtained by consent of the defendant or by a search warrant issued with probable cause to do so), timely; submitting a proposed order for transferring a sample of the Virginia DUI defendant’s drawn blood to a private lab for independent analysis; and issuing a subpoena for the charts, notes and graphs. For Virginia DUI breath BAC defense, these approaches include challenging whether the breath technician had the defendant open his or her mouth at least twenty minutes before beginning to blow into the breathalyzer / Intox EC/IR II machine; challenging whether the breath technician signed (versus block printing, or not signing at all) the attestation clause in the certificate of BAC analysis; and obtaining the essential DFS data about the operation of the breath testing on the defendant and the equipment model itself.

Attacking the absence of a blood draw witness and their credentials at your Fairfax DUI blood trial

In two courthouses in Northern Virginia, General District Court judges routinely do not require the presence of the blood draw witnesses in blood DWI cases so long as a Circuit Court order exists that approves of such a witness for drawing blood. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, i know the absence of such witnesses is not pursued in this, my office-based county, and for good reason, because reasonably read, blood draw witnesses need to be subject to counterattacking cross examination about whether they lived up to their licenses and sound scientific practice in drawing blood. Virginia Code § 18.2-268.5. Whereas police often will obtain search warrants for drawing blood from Virginia DUI defendants who refuse to submit to post-arrest breath testing, in Fairfax it is less common for police to seek such search warrants when the usual Fairfax jail blood draw technician is not present, out of insufficient interest to bring the defendant to the hospital for a blood draw. (I much prefer that blood draws be by hospital rather than jail personnel, because the former are less likely than the latter to appear at trial.) Consequently unless you know whether the jail blood draw staffemember is present, you will not know whether your refusal as a Fairfax DUI defendant will result in no search warrant being sought and obtained for drawing your blood.

Will I be forgiven for drinking and driving on St. Patrick’s Day?

Police are out in greater force when expecting a higher number of alcohol-influenced drivers to be on the road, whether that be St. Patricck’s Day, the new year, Independence Day, and numerous other celebration times. Do not expect to be treated more gently that you drover after drinking during such holiday weekends. Instead, fully defend yourself by obtaining the best possible lawyer for you who will engage at trial in counterattacking the case against you.

Fairfax DUI lawyer Jonathan Katz — among a small percentage of Virginia DUI defenders who is a member of the essential National College for DUI Defense (NCDD) remains single-focused on obtaining your best defense against Virginia DUI prosecutions. You will thank yourself for meeting with Jon Katz, as you will at this meeting become more education and confident about your defense. Call 703-383-1100 for your free in-person consultation about your court-pending prosecution.