Four Basic Types Of DUI Evidence

Every DUI case is unique.  However, almost all DUI cases involve the same four basic types of evidence:

    1.    Bad Driving

    2.    Appearance and Demeanor

    3.    Field Sobriety Test performance; and 

    4.    Alcohol Concentration Evidence.

Bad Driving - Was there anything about your driving that provides credible evidence that you were under the influence of alcohol?  Testimony that your vehicle was stopped because it was "weaving", "drifting" or "swerving" out of its lane suggests impairment.  Testimony that a vehicle was stopped because it was speeding is less suggestive of impairment.  When assessing the strength of the evidence in a DUI case, the first place to look is at the presence, or absence, of evidence of bad driving.

Appearance and Demeanor - Did you look and act drunk?  When more than one police officer has described your appearance and demeanor, is that description confirmed, or contradicted by those of the other officers who have also witnessed and described how you looked and acted? Police reports are significant both for what they say, and for what they do not say.  Most officers will testify that they have been trained to:

    1.    Fill out their police reports accurately and completely; and

    2.    Note explicitly in their report anything that they witnessed about the way that you looked, and  

           the way that you acted, that would help to prove that you were under the influence of alcohol.

Use the following "Yes" or "No" checklist to analyze what each police report says, and to also determine "what it does not say":

                EYES 

                                RED

                                BLOODSHOT

                                GLASSY

                                WATERY

                 FACE FLUSH

                 SPEECH

                 SLURRED

                 INCOHERENT CONTENT

                 MUMBLING

                 FUMBLED FOR DOCUMENTS

                 ODOR OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE

                 LOST BALANCE EXITING VEHICLE

                 UNSTEADY ON FEET

                 UNCOOPERATIVE 

                 CONFUSED

                 FORGETFUL

            ADMITTED 

                           DRINKING  

                           INTOXICATION

Field Sobriety Test Performance - How did you do on the HGN, walk and turn and/or one leg stand tests?  Did you pass, or fail, each test in accordance with the NHTSA's standardized criteria? How did you look and act while being instructed, and while attempting to perform each test? 

Alcohol Concentration Evidence - How low did you blow?  

To assess the strength of the case against you, have a hard look at these four basic types of evidence.   

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