It is your constitutional right to be left alone unless law enforcement has a legitimate reason to stop and question you. This “probable cause” is a critical area of law in many DUI cases. The old standby “failure to drive within marked lanes” is a law enforcement favorite. Stories abound of how and why officers stop and question suspected drunk drivers. Stopping work trucks after dark (the assumption is that they stopped off for happy hour and are unlikely to be heading to or from a job site at midnight) is another tactic.
The Denver drunk driving defense lawyers at The Law Firm of Jeremy Rosenthal will thoroughly review your case and aggressively defend your rights in the wake of a drunk driving charge in Denver or the surrounding area, including Aurora, Boulder, Lakewood and Englewood.
Examples of unlawful car stops in Colorado drunk driving cases can include:
- Stopping you based on an anonymous tip or phone call.
- Stopping a vehicle without reasonable cause. Specific facts must be articulated to justify the stop. Law enforcement fishing expeditions are a violation of your rights.
- Stopping you for driving too slow, unless it is a specific violation of a traffic ordinance.
- Weaving within your own lane. In fact, weaving once onto the shoulder is not always enough for a stop. The law states only that drivers must drive within a single lane to the extent that it is practical.
- Stops at an improperly conducted sobriety checkpoint.
- Stopping you to check your driver’s license and registration.
- Blocking a vehicle’s exit without just cause.
- Requesting that you submit to sobriety testing without reasonable cause to believe that you are intoxicated.
The rules are clear. An officer must have probable cause to stop you and reason to believe you are intoxicated before subjecting you to sobriety testing. Yet how many police reports do you think cite “weaving” and “glassy eyes and an odor of alcohol” as probable cause? Many of these reports could be written ahead of time and the defendant’s name inserted during arrest. And, in many cases, they can be successfully challenged by an experienced Denver DUI defense lawyer.
Just because you are arrested for DUI doesn’t mean you will be convicted of DUI. Call The Law Firm of Jeremy Rosenthal for a free and confidential appointment to discuss your rights.
When you’ve got a strong, effective defense, you’ve got options. For a free consultation with The Law Firm of Jeremy Rosenthal, call 303-825-2223 or contact the firm online.
