Defending Alexandria Drug DUI Charges

There are a couple of defenses a person might have if they are charged with driving under the influence of drugs in Alexandria, Virginia. But they are fact by fact, case by case basis and they are different for every single case. To say there is a blanket defense strategy is not accurate.

In general, a person should hire an Alexandria DUI drug attorney to help defend them against an aggressive prosecution and mitigate potential consequences.

How an Alexandria Drug DUI Lawyer Can Help

In general, a drug DUI lawyer in Alexandria should try to discredit the police testimony that their client was under the influence of drugs. The officer may have been mistaken as to the person’s performance on the field sobriety test. Maybe the person was tired, nervous, or the weather was bad.

The attorney should examine the chain of custody in the handling of the blood sample that was drawn from the subject. If there are any problems in the chain of custody, meaning there could have been any tainting of the drug, it could lead to a false positive.

The Alexandria DUID attorney should also be looking at the final analysis to see if that was done correctly; if there were any problems in the final analysis that would suggest the person was not under the influence of drugs. There can be a number of things to look for. They should also be look for any constitutional violation.

The first of these is whether there was reasonable articulable suspicion to pull over the person’s vehicle. If there was not suspicion to pull over their vehicle, the attorney can move to suppress any evidence that came from that illegal stop.

Additionally, they determine whether there was probable cause to arrest the person. If there was not probable cause to arrest them, anything that flourished from that illegal arrest should be suppressed and should not be evidence against the person. However, there is no one set defense strategy that always works.

Minimizing Damage

An attorney can help put the person in a better position to minimize or reduce their sentence. They can look at mitigating factors and help build those. They can help collect evidence to show that the police were mistaken.

They can look at possible defenses such as a constitutional violation, a lack of reasonable articulable suspicion to stop the vehicle, or the lack of probable cause to arrest the person. They can look at problems with the chain of custody of the blood sample or the analysis results. There are various defenses that can be set up.

An attorney can advise someone every step of the way. They can walk the person through the process. They can discuss potential outcomes and risk and rewards of going to trial and help the person make an informed decision that’s best for their life.

Mistakes to Avoid in Alexandria DUI Drug Cases

Defending against a drug DUI charge begins as soon as someone is pulled over and questioned by police. It is important to remember what actions will hurt your case and what actions will benefit your case further down the line.

One mistake for a person to avoid is to admit to police that they consumed any drugs. Police have a hard time determining whether the person consumed any drugs because it’s not as noticeable as alcohol. Secondly, a person should not think their case will be dismissed because it’s a DUI drug case and Alexandria prosecutors will not take it seriously, or that it’s hard to prove where all mistakes are.

It is pretty easy for police and prosecutors to prove their DUI drug cases because of the availability of chemical blood tests that will provide scientific evidence someone has drugs in their system, and officer testimony.

A person should assume that the Alexandria law enforcement officials will do everything they can if the evidence is there. Lastly, a person should not make the mistake of thinking there will be a deferred finding or this will not end up on their record simply because they have lived an otherwise outstanding life or had no prior police contact.

Even with a person who is arrested for the first time in their life, first contact with police ever, prosecutors are unlikely to give them any breaks because they take DUI drugs very seriously and will try to obtain a conviction.

Consenting to Vehicle Searches During Initial Police Stop

A person never has to consent to a vehicle search at any point or any interaction with police whether it’s a DUI drug stop, a drug stop, or any other kind of traffic stop in Alexandria. A person always has the right to not give their consent to police no matter how the question is posed to them.

However, Alexandria police officers can get into the vehicle in other ways such as if they have probable cause to arrest the person, probable cause to believe the car contains contraband, or if they tow the car because they are arresting the person. They have a right to go into the car and search it then. There are ways for police to get into the car, but never does a person have to give consent for police to search their vehicle.

If it were so, it would not be called consent. One of the best ways you can protect yourself against an Alexandria DUI drug charge is to refuse consent to a search of your vehicle.