On January 13, 2013, Larry Davis ran a stop sign in Austin. He was stopped by police, and during the course of the vehicle stop, he was asked to perform field sobriety tests. Davis exited his vehicle and participated in the tests. The officer who made the stop said that when Davis performed field sobriety tests, he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. When the officer asked Larry Davis whether he had consumed any alcohol, Davis stated that he had consumed just one drink. He then took a breathalyzer test, which returned a reading of 0.00. What happened next is not what you might think. Despite the negative result on the breathalyzer test, Davis was not given a warning or ticket for running the stop sign and then sent along his way. He was arrested, and he spent a day in jail.
At some point during his arrest and the subsequent incarceration, Davis voluntarily provided a sample of his blood. The sample was sent to a lab to be tested for alcohol. A few months later, the results of the blood test showed that no alcohol was in Davis’s blood at the time of his arrest. Because of the results of the breathalyzer and blood tests, his DUI case was dismissed. It took about a year from the time of his arrest for his record to be fully cleared.
Travis County, where Davis was arrested, has a high rate of dismissal for DUI charges. Approximately thirty percent of Travis County DUI cases, including Davis’s, are dismissed. Law enforcement in the county are overly aggressive about stopping drivers whom they have even the slightest suspicion are driving under the influence of alcohol. The officers and their supervisors cite “safety” as the reason why they make so many DUI arrests. This excessive enforcement costs everyone money. Defendants who are able to pay for an attorney may have to spend thousands of dollars to get their DUI dismissed and off of their record. Indigent defendants like Larry Davis also incur legal fees, which are paid for by the county.
The case of Larry Davis contains several valuable lessons for anyone who is arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. One is that any traffic stop can turn into a DUI arrest. Whether you forget to stop for a stop sign, have a headlight out, or shift a little bit too much inside of your lane, an officer who wants to pull you over will find any reason at all to do so. Also, field sobriety tests are not an accurate indicator of whether someone has actually consumed alcohol. Poor coordination, fatigue, uncomfortable shoes, or even just being nervous can cause you to wobble as you try to walk a straight line. Even worse, the determination of whether you pass or fail the test is made by an officer who has stopped your vehicle because they have already made up their mind that you are intoxicated. Perhaps the biggest lesson that DUI defendants can take away from Larry Davis’s experience is to fight back against DUI charges because they are often made in error.
If you have been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, contact a Texas DUI Defense Attorney right away. A skilled DUI defense attorney can increase your chance of getting your case dismissed. If dismissal is not possible, they can help you to accomplish the best possible results under the circumstances. To learn more, call attorney Alex Tyra today, and schedule a free consultation. We can be reached at (903) 753-7499, or you may visit us online to submit a convenient online contact form.