Evidence Needed for DUI Convictions in Georgia

If you have been charged with DUI, you have the legal right to your day in court. You can fight the charges against you as the prosecutor needs to prove their case. The prosecutor needs evidence that would prove your guilt.

If you are currently facing DUI charges, you need an experienced attorney who can help determine whether you can contest the charges or negotiate a plea agreement. Our DUI defense lawyer at Moffitt Law, LLC can review your case and help you decide your path forward.

The Prosecutor Must Meet Their Burden of Proof

The prosecutor must prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury to win a conviction. The reasonable doubt standard equates to 100% certainty — no reasonable person would doubt the accused’s guilt. This standard is much higher than the one that a plaintiff would need to win a civil case.

Logically, this high standard, and ethical obligations, mean that a prosecutor should only press charges when they have some evidence that could prove guilt.

DUI Evidence May Come from Observation or Questioning

DUI evidence can come from several sources. Usually, a police officer sees something to lead them to believe that a traffic law is being violated. They must have reasonable suspicion to make a traffic stop when they believe that you were driving under the influence. They could also view certain conduct when they pull you over for allegedly violating a traffic law. The officer may then testify about what they observed when they stopped you.

Then, the prosecutor may try to introduce evidence of what you may have said when you were being questioned by police. Hopefully, you did not speak to the police when they wanted to ask you questions, and you said you wanted a lawyer. However, police may have managed to elicit answers that they will now try to use against you in court.

Physical Evidence in Your DUI Case

Much of the prosecutor’s case should rely on physical evidence. Without it, the prosecutor may not have the strongest case that would allow them to proceed.

Three primary forms of physical evidence could be introduced into a DUI case:

• The officer may have administered a field sobriety test, where they asked the driver to perform certain tasks or repeat certain sequences.
• The officer may have asked the driver to take a Breathalyzer test at the scene. The driver gives implied consent to this test when they get a driver’s license. The breath test results in a reading of blood alcohol content.
• If the driver refused a Breathalyzer test, police may have sought a search warrant based on probable cause to draw blood from the driver who was stopped. This is physical evidence that could be unreliable or corrupted at some point.

Grounds to Challenge DUI Evidence

There are certain limitations on what prosecutors may introduce as evidence in their case. There are several routes that your attorney can take to challenge evidence that the prosecutor wishes to use, including:

• Seeking to throw out any evidence from a Breathalyzer machine because it was not properly calibrated
• Trying to suppress evidence of a physical blood test because there were irregularities in the testing itself, or there was not a valid chain of custody over the evidence
• Challenging blood test results because the warrant lacked sufficient probable cause
• Contesting the recollection of witnesses who may not have had a vantage point to see what happened

Prosecutors should be using direct evidence in court to try to prove their guilt. Their case gets much weaker if they are trying to rely on circumstantial evidence that tries to use inferences as proof of guilt.

Contact a DUI Attorney in Georgia Today

If you have been charged with DUI, Moffitt Law, LLC is standing by and ready to help you. First, you need to reach out to us to schedule a consultation with an attorney.

We will speak to you and learn about your situation before giving you tailored legal advice for your situation. You can get legal help today by sending us a message through our website or calling us today at 762-200-2924.