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In 2024, alcohol-impaired driving crashes killed 11,904 people, accounting for approximately 30% of all U.S. traffic fatalities. That equals roughly one alcohol-related traffic death every 44 minutes.
In most states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, it is illegal for most drivers to have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher. Utah employs a lower limit of 0.05%.
A DUI charge does not equal a DUI conviction. But can a DUI be dismissed?
There are possible defenses for DUI charges. It may involve the legality of the traffic stop, the accuracy of breath or blood tests, the handling of samples, or whether the driver was actually impaired.
Because DUI laws and court procedures vary by state, the outcome depends heavily on the facts and evidence in each case.
The traffic stop, where many DUI cases are won or lost
Each time a traffic stop is conducted, there must be reasonable and articulable suspicion, either in the form of a traffic law violation or some sort of criminal behavior. In case an officer conducts a traffic stop without any legal grounds, it is illegal, and the consequences following the Fourth Amendment are quite harsh.
Anything gathered after the unlawful stop can be suppressed, including field sobriety tests, breathalyzer results, and the officer’s own observations.
A motion to suppress tied to an unlawful stop does not ask you to prove the driver was sober or anything like that. Instead, it focuses on whether the officer had enough legal footing to start the stop in the first place.
Dashcam footage, bodycam video, and even the officer’s own written report often show whether the reason the officer gave lines up with what the evidence actually shows. If no traffic infraction occurred and the officer’s stated reason is not confirmed, that mismatch can be a strong starting point for suppression.
The reasonable suspicion standard that governs traffic stops traces back to the U.S. Supreme Court’s call in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), which said the stop needs specific, articulable facts, not some generalized hunch.
Challenging breathalyzer and chemical test evidence
Breathalyzer results are often treated like objective scientific proof, but they come with documented sources of error that courts have already said can be challenged.
Breath testing equipment has to be calibrated and cared for on a regular schedule, following manufacturer instructions and state protocols. The Conforming Products List, managed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, includes certified evidential breath testing devices and specifies the guidelines for their operation and calibration.
When a device misses its calibration window or lacks calibration documentation, the breath data it generates can be suppressed. Depending on the state, missing records may lead to suppression, or the absence may be treated as a factor for the factfinder to evaluate.
The officer carrying out the breathalyzer test should be certified in operating the particular instrument he is using. Procedures concerning the period of observation before conducting the test, taking of samples, and how to deal with the results should be adhered to.
Breathalyzers test for alcohol concentration in the deep lung air and then translate the value into blood alcohol concentration. There are various diseases and physical characteristics that can give high results but do not mean impairment.
Gastroesophageal reflux, acid reflux, and ketosis from low-carbohydrate diets can introduce mouth alcohol or other compounds that some devices misread as ethanol. Diabetes and certain metabolic conditions can have similar effects.
Dismissal is not the only favorable outcome
A charge can be lowered to an offense, like reckless driving or wet reckless. This type of offense has less serious consequences. It leads to punishments and shorter times when the license is taken away, and in many situations there is no need for an ignition interlock device.
A person who takes the reduced charge avoids the problems that come with a DUI conviction. These problems include insurance costs, issues with professional licenses, and, in some states, a record that stays on file.
There are diversion programs in various jurisdictions that enable the eligible offenders, who are often first-time offenders without any aggravating factors, to complete the program of alcohol education and community service and be granted dismissal of their charges after successful completion.
The accusation remains pending but is suspended. If the defendant completes all that is required, the case will be dismissed, and even the arrest could be expunged.
According to Ocean Township criminal defense lawyer Adam Jon Weisberg and the overview of Weisberg & Klauber, LLC, an expungement can not only remove arrest information from your criminal record but also keep files connected with the arrest from remaining public information.
Field sobriety tests, standardized requirements and their gaps
The NHTSA’s Standardized Field Sobriety Testing program includes three tests that are scientifically proven: the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, the Walk-and-Turn, and the One-Leg Stand tests. This validation is based on the idea that tests are performed in standardized settings and follow the correct protocols.
There are a few usual reasons someone would challenge field sobriety test outcomes. The Walk-and-Turn and One-Leg Stand assessments require a flat, dry area with good visibility, as uneven surfaces, inclines, gravel, or poor lighting can affect results beyond the test’s standard parameters.
Also, each standardized test depends on precise verbal instructions plus a physical demonstration, and if the officer doesn’t give the full instructions or doesn’t show the task properly, the findings become less reliable.
Medical and physical factors matter too. Balance test performance can be affected by inner ear problems, injuries to the knee or ankle, obesity, age, and various neurological issues, yet police reports rarely acknowledge these factors, despite defendants pointing them out at the time.
Tests outside of the three NHTSA-validated assessments, including alphabet recitation, finger-to-nose, or backward counting, are not scientifically confirmed and do not carry any assumption of reliability.
A DUI charge usually involves a bunch of evidence, and each piece of it was generated through some process that has procedural requirements, so there are legal standards for the stop, the field sobriety tests, the breath or blood test, and even the arrest.
Dismissal, reduction, diversion, and acquittal have all happened in DUI matters where specific legal vulnerabilities were found and then properly developed. None of those end results require that the driver must be proven definitively sober. They focus on showing where the prosecution’s evidence is legally inadequate, procedurally compromised, or scientifically questionable and making sure those concerns are raised at the right procedural moment, before the chance closes.
