Impaired driving trial persuasion – Virginia DUI lawyer

Impaired driving prosecutions need full defense, says Virginia DUI lawyer

Impaired driving convictions risk jail and other adverse penalties. As a Virginia DUI lawyer, I know the importance of pursuing a full court press against such prosecutions.

Virginia DUI attorney on bringing the judge and jury to the incident scene of impaired driving prosecutions

As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I know how important it is to move the judge and jury away from piecemeal evaluation of cases alleging impaired driving, and to inject themselves back in time to the scene of the incident, to feel the stress and surprise of being stopped by police when trying to arrive at the driver’s destination; the unsettling feeling of being questioned and encouraged to perform field sobriety tests in the rain, in the cold, on unlevel surfaces, alongside dangerous whizzing traffic, and alongside police carrying handguns and tasers; and the isolation of not being permitted to contact any family member, friend, lawyer nor anyone else in the outside world until after submitting to post-arrest blood or Intox EC/IRII breath testing, or else refusing to submit to the same.

Fairfax DUI attorney on unfamiliar territory rather than alcohol creating distraction with field sobriety tests

Prosecutors and police love to emphasize that field sobriety tests are divided attention tests that help reveal whether the suspect driver is has committed impaired driving through being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. As a Virginia DWI lawyer, I offer an alternative scenario about police overloading scared suspects with field sobriety test instructions, wearing suspects down with question after question, when the stopped drivers are fish out of water not wanting to be hit by passing cars, which is a recipe for mistakes of even stone-sober people with field testing and requests to count backwards and to recite a portion of the alphabet. Add to that state of discomfort, stress, confusion and discombobulation the common refusal of police to allow suspects to go to the bathroom nor to drink water for thirst before being arrested.

Virginia DUI lawyer on making judges and jurors recognize that awkward behavior could be displayed by themselves as well

By bringing judges and jurors to the incident scene and date of impaired driving casess, some of them might remember themselves having experiences speaking inaccurately or confused while fully sober and awake. I myself mistakenly told a Border Patrol officer at a late night checkpoint that my car was my own versus a rental, and then quickly corrected myself, when I was pumped up with righteous indignation about being stopped so far from the Mexican border.

Virginia impaired driving prosecutions need to be fought tooth and nail. 

Virginia DUI lawyer Jonathan L. Katz has successfully defended hundreds of clients charged with DWI, and has taken hundreds of such cases to trial. To discuss your case with Jon Katz, please call his staff to schedule a confidential consultation, at 703-383-1100.