DUI, DWI, Drinking and Driving - An Overview
Although it is not the best choice to make, a lot of people, every day, choose to drive after drinking. In fact, it is safe to say that the majority of people have at some time in their lives driven while intoxicated. And, although this behavior is so common, all states have some form of statute prohibiting it. Of course, such prohibitions are necessary to attempt to inhibit those individuals who are significantly impaired from causing bodily injury to others or damaging property. This being said, a conviction for such an offense can harbor serious consequences for the accused - up to and including suspension of their driving privilege. Therefore, it is in the accused drunk driver's best interest to attempt to obtain an acquittal of the charge or at least a reduction in the severity of the crime charged through a plea.
The first step to fighting a charge of driving under the influence is to understand the essential elements of the crime, as the failure to prove any of these elements precludes conviction. The corpus delicti of misdemeanor DUI or DWI is:
1. Driving or operating a motor vehicle
2. On a public highway or ____
3. While impaired or intoxicated by alcohol.
It is important to familiarize yourself with the particular statutory language used in the jurisdiction of the charge, as your chances of receiving a favorable judgment may in part depend upon slight nuances in the law. Different states use different language to describe the level of control that the driver has upon the vehicle (in some states the vehicle can even be a tractor) while intoxicated. This can range from the all encompasing “actual physical control” or “operating” - which can mean as little as having the ability to put on the parking brake of a non-running vehicle - to “driving”- which actually means piloting a running vehicle. The statutory language in some states specifies the place of the offense as “occuring on a highway of the state”, and in some it is so broad as to include private property as well. The level of impairment of the intoxicating liquor on the offender is described as “intoxicated”, “intoxicated condition”, “under the influence”, or a particular degree of impairment; however, in most cases it is also specified as exceeding a baseline blood level concentration. The formallly accepted determination of intoxication is an inability to operate the vehicle in a manner of an ordinary prudent and cautious person in full possession of her faculties.
If you are charged with the serious offense of driving “under the influence” or “driving while intoxicated”, there a numerous tactics which a seasoned attorney who specializes in such cases may be able to employ to either reduce or eliminate the charges against you.
The first step to fighting a charge of driving under the influence is to understand the essential elements of the crime, as the failure to prove any of these elements precludes conviction. The corpus delicti of misdemeanor DUI or DWI is:
1. Driving or operating a motor vehicle
2. On a public highway or ____
3. While impaired or intoxicated by alcohol.
It is important to familiarize yourself with the particular statutory language used in the jurisdiction of the charge, as your chances of receiving a favorable judgment may in part depend upon slight nuances in the law. Different states use different language to describe the level of control that the driver has upon the vehicle (in some states the vehicle can even be a tractor) while intoxicated. This can range from the all encompasing “actual physical control” or “operating” - which can mean as little as having the ability to put on the parking brake of a non-running vehicle - to “driving”- which actually means piloting a running vehicle. The statutory language in some states specifies the place of the offense as “occuring on a highway of the state”, and in some it is so broad as to include private property as well. The level of impairment of the intoxicating liquor on the offender is described as “intoxicated”, “intoxicated condition”, “under the influence”, or a particular degree of impairment; however, in most cases it is also specified as exceeding a baseline blood level concentration. The formallly accepted determination of intoxication is an inability to operate the vehicle in a manner of an ordinary prudent and cautious person in full possession of her faculties.
If you are charged with the serious offense of driving “under the influence” or “driving while intoxicated”, there a numerous tactics which a seasoned attorney who specializes in such cases may be able to employ to either reduce or eliminate the charges against you.