Recent Cases Which May Be Helpful In Your Defense Of A Utah DUI

    1. State v. Homan: Field Sobriety Tests not allowed to establish probable cause unless done correctly.

 

    1. Knowles v. Iowa: Officers may not search beyond what is necessary for officer safety in a routine traffic stop.

 

    1. U.S. v. Lambert: A defendant was seized while agents held his driver’s license for 20 minutes.

 

    1. U.S. v. Buchannan: The defendants were seized when the troopers separated them from their vehicle.

 

    1. U.S. v. Mitchell: A defendant retains his priveledge against self-incrimination through sentencing.

 

    1. Florida v. J.L.: A seizure can not be made based on an uncorroborated anonymous tip.

 

    1. Salt Lake City v. Garcia: The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Test cannot be introduced as scientific evidence and cannot be used to determine the actual level of intoxication.

 

    1. State v. Preece: Even though the statute says that you are guilty of a DUI if you have sufficient alchol in your body that a chemical test given within two hours of the alleged operation or physical control shows that you have a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .08 grams or greater, there is no presumption that your blood alcohol level was .08 or higher at the time of driving just because it was taken within two hours. In other words, your breath test result can always be challenged and the validity of the test can be challenged.

 

    1. Murray City v. Hall: Before the breath test result can be introduced as evidence against you, the state must have evidence that the intoxilyzer machine was working properly.In other words, if the state cannot produce affidavits showing the machine was working properly, or they cannot have a witness testify that the machine was working properly, then the breath test result cannot be introduced into evidence against you.

 

  1. Salt Lake City v. Womack: Officers must observe the Defendant for 15 minutes prior to giving the breath test. This is Utah’s “Baker Test”. If you had gum or you burped before taking the breath test, the validity is compromised and the officer has to start the 15 minute observation period over.