Kentucky DUI Defense Lawyer

High Heel Defense in DUI Case

Wearing High Heals during a Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST) can provide a defense to a DUI case. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) SFST Student Manual and the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training DUI / Standard Field Sobriety Basic Training Manual, "Individuals wearing heels more than 2 inches high should be given the opportunity to remove their shoes." 

The defense works. In a North Carolina case, a woman wearing 3 1/2 inch stiletto heels failed the walk and turn and one-legged stand field sobriety tests. The attorney argued successfully that it was
“fundamentally unfair” to think that the woman could pass the tests.

Post by Kentucky DUI Lawyer, Stephen J. Isaacs, Isaacs Law Office.

Tap Water Defense Causes 300 DUI Cases to be Dismissed

A Florida appellate court ruled on January 3, 2007, that improper maintenance of the Intoxilyzer 5000 alcohol breath-test machines with tap water renders the results of a DUI breath test inadmissible. 

Since July 29, 2001, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) regulations have required the use of distilled or deionized water in monthly agency inspections of breath testing instruments, including the Intoilyzer 5000 machines.  Officers at the Davie police department and the Broward Sheriff's Office used tap water instead of distilled water to test the machines. Accordingly, Defense lawyers brought a Motion to Suppress any and all results of a breath test, in that the State used tap water, and not distilled or de-ionized water as required by law. The trial court judge ruled in favor of the defendant.

On Appeal, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled that the improper maintenance of the alcohol breath-test machines rendered the Intoxilyzer results inadmissible.

The State v. Cubic, No. 4D05-3553 (Fla. App. 1/3/2007) (Fla. App., 2007) decision is not final, but the end result is that approximately 300 drunk driving cases in Broward County could be dismissed because of the inadmissible Intoxilyzer 5000 test results.

Post by Kentucky DUI Lawyer, Stephen J. Isaacs, Isaacs Law Office.

Police Video In DUI Case

Police often video various aspects of the arrest and booking of a person driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI). Few people picked up for DUI / DWI ever see themselves as others see them. Even fewer realize they are being recorded by the police.

Defense attorneys have a difficult job when their client can not accurately recall events so as to assist in their defense.  Alcohol and other intoxicants affect brain functions which affects thought processes, memory, and motor control. Fortunately, police video's are many times very helpful tools for Kentucky criminal defense lawyers. Based on the facts involved in each DUI case, these video's may show constitutional and / or procedural violations.  If the video shows such a violation, then the skilled Kentucky criminal defense attorney will usually file a motion to suppress evidence in an attempt to get the Court to rule that a part or the entire police video is inadmissible at the DUI trial.

Click on the link to see a police video discovered on the Internet showing an individual believed to be under the influence of alcohol as he was given a breath alcohol test by a police officer at a police station.  This is the type of video which would be detrimental to the defense of a DUI case, and one in which the criminal defense attorney would try to suppress.

Post by Kentucky DUI Lawyer, Stephen J. Isaacs, Isaacs Law Office.

Blood Tests can Result in Misleading High BAC

Kentucky courts have recognized that blood tests do NOT always provide accurate levels of blood Alcohol Concentration ( BAC). The Kentucky Supreme Court recognized as an accepted fact that blood serum extracted from a blood sample in a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) blood test will result in a reading 10% to 35% higher than if the test was performed on a blood sample which had not been separated from the serum.

Blood serum occurs when the solid cellular material in whole blood is precipitated out, leaving only the liquid portion called serum.

Serum tested for alcohol often results in a higher BAC as more alcohol is concentrated in the liquid serum. The definition of "alcohol concentration" in Kentucky Revised Statute KRS 189A.005(1) does not include blood serum. Courts in other states have allowed the admission of blood serum evidence, so long as the jury is provided appropriate whole blood conversion information. Therefore, should the Kentucky court allow the admission of the blood serum test results, then the court should also allow evidence of the conversion to correct the 10% to 35% error rate of the elevated BAC from the blood serum.

Post by Lexington Kentucky, Personal Injury, Criminal Defense, and DUI Lawyer, Stephen J. Isaacs.