When police pull you over because they believe you may be driving under the influence, the key to whether the stop is lawful often boils down to one thing: reasonable suspicion. Think of it as a gut feeling backed by facts.
Reasonable suspicion is more than a simple hunch but less than the solid evidence that officers need to arrest you for drunk driving. Maybe you were swerving, drifting over the lane lines, driving unusually slow or doing anything that caught the officer’s attention as out of the ordinary. Such actions can give the police valid legal grounds to stop you.
It can impact your case
If the officer didn’t have reasonable suspicion to pull you over, it’s a violation of your rights. The U.S. Constitution protects you from arbitrary searches by law enforcement. As such, the court may exclude from your trial any evidence collected after the unlawful stop. This includes breath tests, field sobriety tests and even the statements you made.
Without crucial evidence, the prosecution’s case against you can get a lot weaker, which can increase your chances of having the charge dropped or lessened or being found not guilty should your case go to trial.
What can you do to protect yourself?
The law surrounding reasonable suspicion and evidence can be complex, with several exceptions and nuances that aren’t obvious at first glance. If you’ve been arrested for drunk driving or are facing related charges, seeking legal guidance to review the circumstances of your traffic stop and look for mistakes or violations by the police could help your defense and make a significant difference in how your case unfolds.
