Help—I Got a DUI and Wasn't Drunk!

Getting a DUI can cause a lot of damage, so it's frustrating when you believe that you weren't actually drunk. Working with your criminal-defense lawyer, you might be able to piece together what happened and get off the hook for a DUI. Here are some possibilities.

The Breathalyzer Was Broken

It happens. Sometimes, the breathalyzer equipment can be broken. This is why it's a good idea to have your DUI attorney order an alternative test right away to track blood-alcohol content. But even if you didn't get another test, you might be able to argue that the breathalyzer was faulty if you have witnesses who saw your behavior or the amount that you drank before getting in the car. Behavioral observations and field-sobriety tests can factor into a DUI charge as much as a breathalyzer test if you wield the results convincingly, since the breathalyzers are known to misbehave from time to time.

You Mistakenly Went Over the Limit

You might think that you were not over the legal limit because you followed traditional wisdom about how many beers you can have before driving. For example, you may have heard that one drink per hour is fine to make you stay under the legal limit. But everyone's body is different. A large, athletic person who had a hearty meal before drinking may be able to have more drinks before reaching a blood-alcohol content of 0.08. For others, their body may not process alcohol as quickly, so even fewer than one drink per hour can get them intoxicated.

But the good news is that if you were near the legal limit and haven't been stopped for drunk driving before, you may be able to convince the judge that the matter was a one-time accident. Depending on your luck and how persuasive your DUI attorney is, you could potentially stop your driver's license from being revoked. This might require you to have an interlock ignition device installed to check that you are sober before you get behind the wheel.

Your Body Produces Alcohol

This is a long shot, but some people have been arrested for driving while intoxicated but later learned that their body metabolizes yeast differently and actually produces its own alcohol. If you don't have a case for the above, then you might get a medical evaluation to see whether this is the case for you.

Talk to a company such as Pollack & Ball LLC to learn more.