DUI Lawyer | When Can A DUI Charge Be Dropped or Dismissed?


Prosecutors are allowed to use their own discretion when dropping or prosecuting any crimes, including DUI charges. Many times, criminal defendants will use plea-bargaining to speed up the court process, skip the trial, and settle their cases fast, but some people want to try to get their case dropped or dismissed, especially if they feel like they were wrongly accused. A DUI lawyer can review your case and help you determine the best path forward, but there are a few circumstances where getting your DUI dismissed could be possible.

  1. Blood Alcohol Levels-Blood alcohol reading of .05 of 1% or less means that a person charged with DUI is conclusively presumed to NOT be under the influence of alcohol. DUI is the only criminal law in S.C. that provides for post-arrest exoneration on the occurrence of an event; in this example, a breath alcohol reading of .05 of 1% or less. If your DUI lawyer is able to bring doubt to the reliability of the BAC testing, you could easily get your DUI dropped.
  2. Plea-Bargaining a Different Charge-Sometimes, a DUI lawyer can plead out a client to a different offense so that a DUI is not on their driving record, such as reckless driving.
  3. Judge Dismissal-The judge is not able to dismiss a DUI charge; however, the defense DUI lawyer could put forth motions, accepted by the judge, that completely gut the prosecution’s case. When this happens, the prosecutor will drop the charges, and without charges, there is no case. A judge can however during trial, grant a motion for a directed verdict of not guilty if they can prove that the prosecution was unable to make their case effectively.

Do You Need a DUI Lawyer?

Anyone charged with a criminal offense, which a DUI is, need an attorney, and if you have a DUI charge, you need a DUI lawyer that has a lot of experience and a great dismissal rate.

If you’d like to hear how The Law Office of Peter David Browncan help with your DUI charge, call us today at 843-971-0099.