How Reliable Are Alaska DUI Breath Tests
Reader’s Question:
I have heard a lot of stories questioning the reliability of a breath test in a DUI case. If I will be arrested for DUI in Alaska, how can the result of the breath test be excluded as evidence in a DUI case?
Brooke
Anchorage, AK
The use of the breath testing machines to obtain the blood alcohol content of a driver arrested for DUI has been widely criticized since law enforcement has employed the device in an effort to seek convictions for those suspected of DUI. Rationally, many safety standards have been put into place in order to attempt to minimize the number of innocent persons being convicted for DUI. So if you would be arrested for DUI in Alaska, there would be countless reasons that the court could rule to exclude ‘breath test evidence.’
It could be a ground for suppression of evidence if the breath test machine has not been calibrated because it needs to be regularly maintained and serviced to ensure accurate results. The breath test result could also be excluded if the police officer failed to observe the driver for a period of 20 minutes prior to administering the breath test. It would also constitute as a failure of legal procedure if the technician who performed the test is not properly certified and is not current with his/her educational requirements, thus breath test results should be excluded from the state’s evidence.
Need an Anchorage Alaska DUI Attorney?
Reader’s Question:
After being arrested for DUI in Anchorage, Alaska, the ultimate things that I am afraid of are going to jail and losing my license. How can a DUI attorney help me in saving my license and freedom?
Aydin
Anchorage, AK
It’s totally understandable that you are afraid of going to jail and losing your driver’s license after being arrested for DUI in Anchorage, Alaska. There is a good chance that a DUI attorney could help you with that. There are at least 20 possible defenses that can be made to the DUI charges you face. Your DUI attorney would raise applicable defenses for you so that your DUI case is as strong as possible.
The ultimate choice is to fight your DUI case because the ultimate goal of a DUI attorney is getting you off, keeping your record clean and preventing you from losing your freedom and your license to drive. At the very least, a DUI attorney would make sure that you will be treated fairly. Remember that the District Attorney prosecutes criminal cases, including DUI cases, all day. He knows all the fine legal points that can be used against you. But the DA also has to show that the police officer made the arrest properly, that you were properly advised of your rights, that the equipment he used to test you was working accurately and that the person operating that equipment was certified to operate it. A DUI attorney can get information which may prove you innocent.
Why Are Alaska DUI Arrests Increasing?
Reader’s Question:
It’s alarming that so many people I know are being caught drunk driving here in Alaska. Of course, I wouldn’t want the same thing to happen to me. If I was asked to stop for a DUI suspicion, what do you think is the best I can do if I’m already placed under arrest?
Ciara
Anchorage, AK
The sad truth is that if you read police reports, it can be frustrating sometimes to know the statements of people who are caught drunk driving. The common problem here is that most people arrested for DUI in Alaska don’t know that they have the right to refuse to answer questions that might incriminate them before they are arrested.
It is very important to always remember that everything you say from the point you are approached by the police officer until you are released from custody can, and most likely will, be in a subsequent police report, and it may be used against you at trial. You don’t need to say anything to the police officer other than your name and insurance information. Also, don’t offer information such as “I only had two beers” or “I’m upset because my boyfriend just broke up with me.” Don’t even make jokes to the police officer. Don’t argue with them, or swear at the officer because you will later regret it.
It is possible for a DUI lawyer to get the statements thrown out, but it is also possible that a judge may leave them intact and they will then be intact for a jury to hear. So always remember to be quiet, give out only essential information, and hope for the best.
Alaska DUI Drivers License Suspension?
Reader’s Question:
I was surprised that the police officer immediately confiscated my driver’s license after I was arrested for DUI in Alaska. Isn’t that they have to prove that I was guilty first before they punish me, so how can they do that if I was presumed to be innocent?
Maiya
Anchorage, AK
Unfortunately, that should always be the case in a DUI arrest in Anchorage, Alaska. The Department of Motor Vehicles is actually required by law to immediately suspend the driver’s license of anyone arrested for DUI who has a .08% blood alcohol content, takes a blood or urine test that will be analyzed later or refuses to take any test. The driver’s license is taken on the spot and the DUI suspension is legally effective the moment the police officer signs the notice and hands it to you.
If we view it in another way, the police officer in a drunk driving case is constable, prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner and anyone has absolutely no rights. As a matter of fact, if you took a blood or urine test, they don’t even wait for the results (which will come back from the lab days later). Not only they presume you guilty, they also presume that the evidence will eventually show it.
Possible Alaska DUI Defenses
Reader’s Question:
My son has been arrested for DUI in Alaska and we feel like he has a big chance of winning his case. Nonetheless, we still want to know the possible defenses that he can use on his case. What are the attacks that we can use to help my son on his DUI case?
Addison
Anchorage, AK
Although not every possible DUI attack is applicable on every case, there are many DUI defenses that you can use to help your son defend his DUI case. First is that if the police officer lacked probable cause to stop your son. In Alaska, and anywhere in the US, police officers cannot pull you because they feel like it. An officer who initiated a traffic stop must have a lawful reason to pull you over. If the officer lacked a lawful reason to pull your son over, any evidence gathered after the stop may be suppressed. In this case your son would be entitled to an evidentiary hearing to see if the information should be suppressed.
Another thing is if the officer lacked probable cause to arrest your son. An officer can only arrest a person only if probable cause exists to believe a crime was committed. In your son’s DUI case, the evidence gathered by the officer must support the officer’s belief that your son has been operating his vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. This probable cause will be formed based generally on the observations of the officer. Bloodshot eyes, performance of roadside tests, preliminary breath tests and smell of intoxicants can all be a basis for probable cause to arrest.
Which Anchorage Alaska DUI Lawyer Should You Hire?
Reader’s Question:
My daughter was arrested for DUI in Anchorage, Alaska and we were told that it is very important for us to hire the services of a DUI lawyer. Why can’t we just get any lawyer?
Van
Anchorage, AK
If your daughter has been arrested for DUI in Anchorage, Alaska, it is imperative that you hire a DUI lawyer to represent your daughter on her DUI case. You should hire an Alaska DUI & Criminal Defense lawyer that focuses his practice on defending those accused of a DUI. This kind of lawyer spends hundreds of hours perfecting the defense of those accused of DUI. Most of them have read all relevant publications, including hundreds of DUI and Criminal Defense Blogs from all over the country. They also regularly attend legal education seminars devoted to DUI defense.
A lawyer who focuses his attention on DUI cases only knows expert witnesses and understands the in’s and out’s of DUI cases to best help your daughter on her defense. The law is way too complicated these days for a lawyer to be a jack-of-all-trades. When your daughter’s reputation, money, job, or freedom is on the line, she needs a lawyer that makes Alaska DUI & Criminal Defense his priority.
Wrongful Alaska DUI Arrest?
Reader’s Question:
It can be alarming that other illnesses can actually get an individual arrested for DUI in Alaska. This is because a close friend of mine told me a story about his father driving and was arrested for DUI but he wasn’t actually driving under any intoxicated substance. What medical conditions can place a person at high-risk for wrongfully being arrested for DUI?
Stewart
Anchorage, AK
I have also heard several cases in Anchorage, Alaska that a person’s medical conditions can be associated with the symptoms of being intoxicated, and thus can get him/her arrested for DUI. Illnesses can be reasons why a person can have bloodshot or watery eyes or bad balance or poor coordination.
Often times, some drivers fear talking back to police officers. Some of them have been arrested and prosecuted when having ailments which remained undiagnosed, never knowing that a medical condition, and not alcohol or drug impairment, caused their intoxicated appearance and poor performance when taking DUI field sobriety tests (FST).
Even when not detecting the use of alcohol, police officers are actually permitted to arrest drivers when seeing traits or behaviors which they associate with DUI, such as a reddened face, watery eyes or other traits which could result from medical ailments. Medical conditions such as anxiety, anemia, ear infections, diabetes, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibrositis, acne, bell’s palsy, gout or even common cold can often mimic the side effects of alcohol or drug use.