If law enforcement recently charged you with a DUI, there may be actions you can take to keep the situation from becoming worse. With a good DUI defense strategy, you may be able to keep that charge from becoming a conviction that follows you throughout your life. One such strategy involves seeking to have the charges reduced.

Depending on the events leading up to your arrest, getting the charges dropped to a lesser offense could help to keep you out of jail and avoid a felony conviction, and may possibly even lead to a complete case dismissal. In some cases, this is possible even for people who already have one or more DUI convictions. Incorporating an evidence suppression motion into your criminal defense strategy may help you achieve a more favorable outcome.

Evidence suppression

It may be possible to request to have evidence in your case ignored or suppressed. To secure a DUI conviction against you, the prosecution must prove the evidence in your case is sufficient enough to prove your guilt. Field sobriety test results and evidence obtained during unlawful traffic stops and property searches may not qualify as admissible if you can prove that law enforcement lacked probable cause to stop, detain, test or search you and your property (vehicle) or some other type of police misconduct occurred.

Because DUI cases are often multifaceted, it may only be possible for a successful evidence suppression motion to apply to certain case details, resulting in the courts overlooking them and convicting on a lesser charge. However, in some circumstances all evidence in a DUI case is suppressible, resulting in a complete dismissal of all related criminal charges.

Charge reductions and case dismissals are not easy to obtain, but they may be a strategy for potentially avoiding a criminal record or conviction that will follow you for the rest of your life.