When you face DUI charges, the burden of proof is on the prosecution. This means the prosecutor must prove you are guilty of the crime and that you do not have to prove you are innocent.
Your goal when defending yourself is to poke holes in the prosecution’s evidence. You want to disprove everything they are trying to prove by introducing your own evidence. If you cannot disprove the evidence, you can also try other methods that show a legal cause to find you not guilty.
Your rights
One place to start is looking at your rights. According to the Florida Statues, an officer must have reason to believe that you have committed a crime in order to pull you over. It can sometimes help to assess the stop and discover why the officer pulled you over.
You also have the right to implied consent, and the officer must tell you this. The officer should also read your Miranda rights to you so that you know you have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.
The incident
You may also be able to show that there were mistakes during the stop. If the officer used excessive force, this could benefit your case. In addition, you will want to ensure the officer had the proper training to give you any sobriety or blood alcohol tests. You should go over the whole incident to determine if everything was by the book and if there were any points that could bring up a legal issue you can use in your case.
