Driving under the influence (DUI) has been one of the highly publicized cases recently. Not only because half a dozen celebrities are caught doing it monthly, but also because it revealed that there are far more drunk driving cases in the country than anyone thought. Most of them are never publicized for one or both of these reasons. They weren’t really under the influence, and their DWI defense proved just that.
Cases Where The DWI Defense Did Its Job
Audrey Cox
Audrey Cox of Lowell Massachusetts is a reporter for WMUR-TV. One evening when she was driving home, she struck Sandra Dary who was walking with her poodle on the side of the road with her car. Dary suffered injuries that required surgeries and Cox was arrested for driving under the influence.
At the scene, Cox, who at one point admitted to having a glass of wine with lunch, refuse to take a breathalyzer test. In the case, the assistant County attorney used this as proof of her guilt. However, multiple witnesses including the injured party themselves stated that Cox did not appear intoxicated. The injured party was also wearing dark clothing and the sun had just started to set. In the end, the jury found that box was not guilty of a DWI. Because of her known stature the case was heavily broadcasted, especially locally.
Jeffrey Wright
Truth be told, driving under the influence is no laughing matter. It’s caused the loss of lives, severe injury and damage to property. In some cases, even famous celebrities and professionals who are expected to fight this tooth and nail don’t. Even with knowledge of incarceration, community service, and fines, people like Kevin Hart graciously admit that they were wrong.
However, not all cases sing the same Kumbaya. There a people who try to fight, and their case gets dismissed because they had a good lawyer pointing out all the flaws of the process.
There are a lot of ways to get a DUI or DWI case dismissed. The first thing that any lawyer would look at is the evidence and how the evidence was acquired. This was the case with Jeffrey Wright. Police officers pulled him over because of his erratic driving pattern, then promptly asked him to take the field breathalyzer test. He got a .089%, above the legal limit of .08%. However, upon the admission of second test hours later, he passed. His lawyer used this as grounds to convince the prosecution to get the case thrown out, which they did.
If there’s little evidence to prove tampering or question the credibility of the testing process, then lawyers have to rely on research and establishing the character of suspect.
Sources:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20160615/tv-reporter-audrey-cox-found-not-guilty-of-dwi
